The truth behind the lies
by KHighness
Summary: She played with a man's life, kept him from his child, his mother, his family, yet everyone treated her like fragile porcelain when all was revealed. Elizabeth is not off the hook for keeping Jason Morgan hostage for seven months and keeping him away from Danny, not if Samantha Morgan has anything to say about it. She's going down!
1. Chapter 1

_To this day I still can't wrap my mind around how easy everyone let Elizabeth off the hook for keeping Jason hostage for seven months and keeping him away from Danny, so I need to get it off my chest. She's going down!_

 **Chapter 1**

Samantha Morgan was getting angry. Her stiletto boots carried her lithe body across Patrick's living room at a rapid pace, back and forth, increasing in momentum the angrier she got. Laura Spencer had just outright lied to her face, she knew it! Elizabeth Webber had known who Jason was for awhile and Laura knew it too, but had just tried to convince Sam that she was being paranoid thinking that they were keeping a secret about Jason. Sam spent years as a con so she knew a tale when she heard one, and what Laura had just spun was nothing but a tale. Suddenly Sam recalled the day that Laura had stopped by the house unexpectedly, only to tell Sam and Patrick that she just wanted to check up on them to see how they were. It was apparent now that Laura had wanted to come clean that day, but something changed her mind and she left without saying a word. Who else, Sam wondered silently, who else had that valuable knowledge and had kept it away from them? Who else had taken it upon themselves to run their lives and make decisions for them? She stopped short in the middle of the room, before spinning on her heels and grabbing her leather jacket on the way out the door. She needed answers, and there was one skanky bitch who had plenty.

It took Sam only ten minutes to get to the Webber house and as she knocked, she surveyed the porch with toys splayed everywhere and she remembered a time when it hurt her heart to see Elizabeth's happy little home, scattered with the love and light of children, when she had been labeled to never be able to know that joy. Now, she merely shook her head at the irony and falsehood of it all. As the feline in question opened the door to her knock, Sam looked at her with mirrored disgust and displeasure.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," Sam pushed past her into the house.

She stood with the door still open, inviting Sam to exit back through, "this is not a good time."

"That's too damn bad, now isn't it?" Sam was determined to get answers this time. She walked over in front of the couch and turned to face the woman, letting her see that she meant business. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me just how long you've been keeping Jason's identity from him."

The astute PI in Sam didn't miss the panicked look that flew across the nurse's face, despite how brief it was.

"What the hell are you babbling on about now, Sam?" She closed the door and moved into the room to face Sam, trying her best not to show her rising fear.

"You, knew, didn't you, Elizabeth? You knew all along?"

"Knew what? I don't know what you're talking about."

Sam advanced on her slowly, eyes trained on her lying orbs as they darted to the left and she raised her head another inch. "You knew damn well that Jake Doe was Jason, and you kept it to yourself! How long, Elizabeth? How long have you known?"

"Sam, I want you to leave my house right now, please. I don't have time for another one of your delirious tirades." Elizabeth's heart was beating a mile minute. How could she have figured it out? She was never supposed to know, nobody was ever supposed to know, especially Jason.

Sam decided to call her bluff. "Laura gave you away. She was just at my house and she admitted that you've known all along who Jason was." Sam watched her closely.

Elizabeth smiled coyly at Sam, "now I know you're lying. Laura would never do that." She knew how much Laura loved her and would never give her away, no matter how wrong she thought she was. Sam was obviously pulling at straws. "I really need for you to leave now, I need to get supper ready for my family, my fiancé and the boys will be hungry when they get home." She turned towards the door but Sam wasn't done, not nearly. Sam grabbed her arm and spun her back around.

"Your fiancé? Jason is my husband, you delusional twit! Just because you lure a helpless, trusting, amnesiac man into your bed and whitewash his life with your lies and manipulations, doesn't make it real, and it doesn't make him any less my husband!"

Elizabeth spat out angrily, "Jason loves me. Jason and I were supposed to be together years ago, but the mob, you, Carly, you all kept getting in the way. Well, guess what Sam, Jason doesn't remember that life anymore. He wants a life with me and my boys, and we're happy, just like we would've always been if you people would've just left us alone."

Sam was seeing red now, "oh, sure…he loved you so much that he married me and started a family with me! He loved you so much that no matter how many sick games you tried to play with our lives he always left your sorry ass pining after him while he came home to me." Sam didn't care about her feelings anymore, she'd had enough of tiptoeing around this bitch. "What the hell is the matter with you? Do you honestly think that you can just bury your head in the sand and it'll make your fairytale _real_? Jason had a life, he had a family, we mourned and mourned him, Elizabeth! He was cruelly ripped out of our lives, ripped away from everyone and everything he cared about…how could you keep his life from him and then say you love him?"

"I'm not keeping anything from Jason. He doesn't want the violence in his life anymore, he's happy." She stepped closer towards Sam, her hands wringing together anxiously as she tried to be convincing, "so are you, Sam. You've moved on, you have Patrick and you're building a life together. Please, Sam, just leave Jason and I alone, go be happy with Patrick."

Sam whipped her head back, a dry laugh escaping at the woman's immense delusion. "You think people are just interchangeable to suit your crazy little whims, Elizabeth? You really think just because you want it to be that way that Jason is just going to turn his back on his old life, on the people he loved, the family that we built together, just so that you can live in some fantasy world that you dreamt up in your pea brained head?" Sam was yelling at her in frustration now, "Jason is a _person_ , Elizabeth! A living, breathing, for real person with his own feelings and wants. _He_ gets to make his own choices for his life, not you, not me, not anyone else, and if you were any kind of a woman you would want a man to want you for you, to choose you for what you uniquely bring to a relationship." Sam shook her head pitifully at her, "not you though, no, you stalk and manipulate, and settle for any lie that will get my husband into your bed." Sam was walking up on her again, two seconds from beating that ass, "but you can't keep him can you, Elizabeth? You've never been able to, and this time will be no different!"

Elizabeth moved towards the door again, "I'm done having this pointless conversation, Sam. You need to leave, right now!" She swung open the door as she yelled, "get out!" startled to find Jason standing on the doorstep, just about to open the door from the outside.

Jason looked from one angry woman to the other and his heart raced. "What's going on in here?"

Neither were quick to answer. He stepped over the threshold into the room and turned to Elizabeth, "what did I walk in on?"

Sam moved towards them, looking at Elizabeth. "Go ahead, Elizabeth. Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Jason was more than a little confused and didn't like the tension in the room one bit. He was aware that the two women were not friends, and since he found out who he was and asked Sam for a divorce, they had been even colder to one another, but they had managed to remain cordial for the kids' benefit. He didn't know what had happen to set them off, but he knew that he needed to get to the bottom of it - they were both the mother of his child and for his sons' sake, he needed to keep them in good standing with each other. "Somebody please tell me what I missed." Elizabeth looked white as a sheet and Sam was more than a little angry, and if the angry words Elizabeth had just yelled as she opened the door was any indication, they were not about to shake and make up.

Sam was antsy and angry. "Elizabeth, either you tell Jason, or I will!"

"Tell me what?" Jason looked questionably at Elizabeth who was wiping her hands furiously down her jeans.

She stated demurely, "Sam still can't accept that you've moved on and want to marry me, instead of her, and I'm just trying to get her to see how unhealthy it is that she won't accept what's right in front of her."

Sam reached out and grabbed her by the ponytail and yanked back, _hard_. "Really, bitch? You think this is a joke? You think my son's and my lives are a fucking joke?"

Jason leapt forward to defend his frightened fiancé, grabbing Sam's hand and pulling her away from Elizabeth. "Sam, what the hell?"

But she'd had enough. Sam was nearing a boiling point and she took aim at Jason now, yanking her arm away from his hold. "What the hell, my ass Jason! What the hell are YOU doing? How long are you going to run around here with your head stuck so far up this whiny bitch's ass that you can't even see what's right in front of you?" She took two steps back, shaking her head as they both stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "This is your last chance Elizabeth, tell him now, or I will."

Jason wasn't going to listen to anymore. "That's it, get out of our house."

Sam looked at him in shock. He was angry, at _her_? "Jason…"

"I said get out, NOW!"

Elizabeth was looking from one to the other, holding her breath, not daring to breathe. Oh, God, please don't let Sam spill her secret, not now, not when she was finally so close to getting what she's always wanted. Jason was finally hers, and in just a few short weeks, he would become her husband, the way it should've been from the start. Jason was finally done with the tramp, he was angrier than she had ever seen him, and Elizabeth was both scared and happy, he wasn't listening to the con artist. He was taking her side and kicking the tramp out.

In a lightning flash, Sam was across the room, but she wasn't moving to the door like they hoped. Instead, she lunged at Jason and shoved his chest with all her might. He staggered back in shock, his mouth falling open as she screamed at him, "get out? Get out of your home?" She reared up and shoved him again, this time pushing him all the way back into the small table by the window. "Fuck you, Jason and fuck you, Elizabeth!" Sam turned towards the spineless woman who cowered away from her, expecting Sam to shove her too. But Sam was more interested in Jason. She whipped back around to him just as he regained his balance, only to stand and stare at her in shock. "You _DO NOT_ get to belittle and degrade me, not ever, and most definitely not for her, not ever again!"

Jason found his voice finally. "You're attacking Elizabeth without provocation and I will not have it, and not in our home!" Elizabeth had been nothing but good and loving to him and he would not allow his soon to be ex-wife to enter her home and attack her. He had just finished defending her to Carly as well - why couldn't they see Elizabeth for the saint she was and love her like he did? He simply could not understand why the two women continued to dislike his fiancé, adamantly refusing to acknowledge her place in his life.

Sam was screaming at him again and instinctively he sank his feet into the ground, bracing for the moment that she would shove him again. "Elizabeth is not as defenseless and saintly as you think, Jason. She has never been, but you've always had her up on a pedestal, worshipping at her feet like she could do no wrong. Well, guess what, dear _husband_? Your Saint Elizabeth has been lying to you for months, haven't you princess?"

Elizabeth turned earnest eyes to look at Jason, "I have no idea what she's talking about, I just want her to leave."

"What are you gonna do if I don't Elizabeth, you gonna call the cops?" She turned and sauntered back towards Jason as she quipped, "oh wait, maybe my big bad enforcer husband will toss me out on my ass for you?" She shook her head deridingly at him, "no? Then maybe he'll threaten to kill me again for you?" She kept shaking her head at him, "no? Oh, that's right, Jason Morgan's lifestyle is too dangerous for this version of you. You're mild mannered, jovial Jason now, living in your homey little cottage with your mousy little housewife and two point five kids, leading the mundane, uneventful existence you've always craved. Where's the dog, huh? What's for dinner, _meatloaf_?" She became less threatening as she stared directly into his baby blues searchingly "except, guess what Jason? That's not who you are! It never was, and it's never going to be, no matter how much you and Suzie homemaker over there want to pretend that it is."

Her stilettos clicked against the floor as she moved towards the door, suddenly drained and anxious to get the hell away from both of them. She continued, "when this laughable house of cards start crumbling all around you, I hope you'll be able to find a little bit of _my_ Jason left, to keep you from crashing down with it." She shoved past Elizabeth, forcefully smashing her bony shoulder, "that's if this pathetic bitch hasn't completely taken your balls by then." Sam stormed out the door, slamming it loudly behind her.

The room was deadly quiet after Sam left. Elizabeth stood on one side, staring at Jason with bated breath. Did he believe anything she said? How much damage control would she have to do? She wished he'd say something, anything, to give her an idea of where his mind was, but he just stared at the closed door, a look of on his face she could not read. She decided to get ahead of the damage and start fixing quickly.

"Jason, I hope you don't believe any of that. I hope you know that Sam is just bitter and unable to accept that you've chosen me again?" She moved to him quickly, placing a hand delicately on his arm, "please don't let any of those vile things that she said get to you."

He could hear her talking and he wanted to reassure and comfort her, he _should_ reassure and comfort her, she was his fiancé, he was in love with her and people had been attacking her all day…but his heart was troubled with those thoughts and more. Why had Carly and Sam been so harsh about her? He knew that they really didn't like her very much, something that he couldn't wrap his mind around in the first place. Yes, there had been bad blood because of a past with him and he supposed there was some jealousy there, but Elizabeth was so sweet, so kind and giving, he just couldn't see how Carly and Sam continued to hate and distrust her, especially since they both had moved past their own issues with the old Jason and had become very good friends themselves. Why weren't they able to show Elizabeth the same kindness? When he was Jake Doe, both women had encouraged him to pursue his feelings for Elizabeth, had been happy for him when he proposed to her, and he could understand how they would've changed their minds about the marriage after he found out who he was, after all he was already married to Sam, but they had gone from being friendly and nice to Elizabeth to downright hating and distrusting her. It just didn't make any sense to him. He'd pleaded with Carly almost every day since he'd found out he was Jason Morgan, but she insisted on warning him at every turn, telling him what a mistake he was making, telling him how Elizabeth was lying and manipulating him. He'd gotten furious with Carly earlier that day for that very reason, and now Sam. In the year that he'd known Sam she had been a great friend and one of the first to forgive his transgressions when his mind was being controlled. She'd selflessly forgiven his attempt to kill her in her own home, and had become his friend, insisting that she understood he was under Helena's control at the time. At the time he couldn't understand why she wasn't afraid of him, why she didn't hate the very sight of him even, but then he'd gotten to know her and he found out how fearless and loyal she was. She genuinely cared about people, she understood his frustrations with his blank life, so much so that she went out of her way to help him put the pieces together, when Elizabeth had encouraged him to give up the search for his identity. In all that time, Sam was never cruel, or violent, or insensitive, so her behavior tonight threw him for a loop.

Something she'd said right before she left struck him harder than the rest, leaving a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked at Elizabeth to find her staring at him expectantly, a look of almost panic in her big brown eyes. He realized that she needed him to tell her that everything was okay. "What did she mean, threaten to kill her again _for you_?" Under Helena's control he had grabbed Sam and used her as an hostage when he'd freed Faison, but somehow, he knew that wasn't what she was talking about, because that had nothing to do with Elizabeth.

"What?" Elizabeth was thrown off guard by his question. She was expecting to have to come up with some quick lie about Sam's accusations, but here was something she could definitely use to her advantage over the hateful woman. "Oh," she began as she pulled him down by his arm so he would sit with her on the couch, "when our son was a baby, Sam watched him get kidnapped and did nothing. She watched us lose our minds for weeks and she said nothing, but you finally figured out what happened and got our baby back. She couldn't stand that you wanted to be a family with Jake and me, so she hired men with guns to scare us, hoping that I'd run away from being with you and that you would push us away because your life was too dangerous. You found out and threatened to kill her if she ever came near me or our family again, you told me all about it." She smiled and grabbed his hands, squeezing his fingers for emphasis as she continued, "you've always loved us more Jason, you've always protected us, even from Sam, and she can't stand that."

Jason was stunned. He could not reconcile the Sam that he had come to know over the past year, with the person that Elizabeth was describing. Sam lived for her son, would die for him, and she doted on other children. He couldn't believe that she would've put a child in danger like that. He stared at Elizabeth thoughtfully, and as he studied her beautiful face, he also noticed the look of cheshire satisfaction that danced in her eyes at his obvious shock at hearing about Sam. Something was so wrong here, but he couldn't put a finger on it. He rose restlessly from the couch and walked to the window, looking out into the darkness, hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. What the hell was going on? How had his quiet, happy existence suddenly gotten so complicated and noisy? His friends were annoyed with him, he was married to Sam and had a son with her, and his gentle, sweet fiancé was lying to him. Deep in his heart he knew there was some truth to Carly's and Sam's accusations, and he needed to find out what the hell was going on. He turned back to Elizabeth, who had risen from the couch and moved to stand behind him, rubbing his back. "What was Sam accusing you of lying about?"

He saw the hurt creep into her eyes, but not before he also saw the panic that she tried to mask. He found it disturbing as she repeated that she had no idea what Sam was talking about. He took her hands in his, stroking the back of them soothingly as he tried to coax her, "you know you can tell me anything, right?"

She smiled again, "of course I do. You know everything about me Jason, and you can trust me, you always have." She kissed his cheek lightly and said, "I have to finish the meatloaf, the boys will be home soon."

After she left for the kitchen, Jason stood in the middle of the living room, looking at the kitchen door, just as lost as when he'd walked in and found the two women arguing. He released a huge sigh, then turned for the front door. If he couldn't get answers at home, he'd go to the other source.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Fifteen minutes later Jason was walking towards Sam's door when it opened rather forcefully and an obviously angry Patrick Drake came storming out, almost running him over. Jason watched him storm to his car and peel out of the driveway towards town. Concerned, he continued to the open front door and looked in to see Sam standing in the far corner of the dining room near the terrace doors, staring at the gaping front door, a look of pain on her face. A look that turned hard and almost unwelcoming when she saw him. He stepped through the door hesitantly and gestured with his hands towards the door that Patrick had exited, "I'm sorry, looks like I came at a bad time?"

Her voice was unusually harsh again, "what do you need, Jason?"

He moved further into the room and stood facing her, noting that she was still very angry and almost fighting to control it. He started awkwardly, "I want to apologize for how I spoke to you earlier." His keen eyes didn't miss the way her head went up, her eyes getting even steelier as he continued quietly, "almost since the day we met, you've been nothing but kind and good to me. You've been a very good friend and you've treated me with nothing but respect, and I couldn't show you that same respect tonight. I'm sorry, Sam."

She took a step back and looked at him incredulously, "you're _sorry_? You came here to tell me that _you're sorry_ for how you spoke to me tonight?" She was angry again. "How about for how much of a douche you've been since you found out who you were?"

He stepped back as if slapped, the look on her face making him think she wanted to do just that. "Ouch. I suppose I deserved that."

She stepped forward this time and he thought for sure she was going to slap him, but she yelled instead, "fuck what you deserve! You've been a total and complete ass to me, not to mention to Danny, and I'm sick of tiptoeing around you and that lying, conniving trash that you're choosing ahead of us, yet again! I don't give a shit what you think you deserve anymore Jason, just go deserve it someplace else," she finished by turning her back on him, moving closer to the terrace doors, raising her arms to heap her long dark hair up on her head in frustration. He stared at her back, her normally strong and confident posture seeming to sag, as she sighed and took a deep breath. Was she crying?

"Sam?" His tentative step forward halted when she whirled around, no sign of tears in her angry eyes.

"Why are you still here, Jason? How did you even get away from the chain around your neck to be here apologizing to me? Did you sneak out again without your warden knowing?"

"Please, Sam, we need to talk."

She wouldn't make it easy for him, she was tired of making everything easy for him. "What do we have left to talk about?"

"Tonight, at Elizabeth's, you said she was lying about something. What do you think she's lying about?"

Her laugh was mocking. "So little miss perfect has a chip in her halo, and you glimpse it, finally? Couldn't bring herself to tell you though, could she?"

"Tell me what? Can you just say it already?" He couldn't control the frustration any longer.

"Tell you that she's known for awhile now, that you're Jason Morgan. I don't know how long exactly, but I overheard Jake telling Danny that his mom and his grandma Laura had a secret about you. Then I started to remember all the conversations that Elizabeth and I had about Jake Doe. When you proposed to her I found her crying in the chapel. She was so lost and confused about marrying you, and guess who ended up convincing her that she should accept your proposal? Why not, you two were in love and you both deserved some happiness after all the upheaval that life had thrown at you, so I encouraged her to follow her heart and go for it." Sam laughed dryly, "how ironic, right? There I stood, encouraging another woman to marry my husband, the love of my life. She must've had a really good laugh at that one afterwards. I'd laugh myself if it wasn't so sad and pathetic."

Jason was getting even more frustrated. "That doesn't mean that she knew who I was, Sam. Are you sure you're not just wanting her to be the bad guy here?"

She was shaking her head adamantly, "think about it Jason…we've suspected for awhile that Nicholas knew who you were, and Nicholas and Elizabeth are the closest of friends who've been spending a whole lot of time together in recent months. Nicholas obviously told her who you were and she has been keeping it to herself, pushing me and Patrick together, convincing you to give up trying to find out who you were, getting edgy every time you came near me and Danny." She was almost pleading as she stared him in the eye, "you've always had great instincts Jason. They've saved us more times than I can count, so don't overlook them now."

Sam became emphatic, gesturing with her hands to get him to hear her. "Think, ask yourself, haven't you had those moments with Elizabeth where you thought things weren't adding up, like she was keeping things from you, being secretive about something? Haven't you had a cryptic conversation where she's started to tell you something and then changed her mind at the last minute?" Sam crossed her arms defiantly over her chest and sneered at him, "of course she has. That's why you're here, isn't it? Can't count on Saint Elizabeth to be truthful, can you?"

Jason felt the need to defend Elizabeth, for the umpteenth time that day. "Elizabeth and I don't have secrets between us. If she knew who I was she would've told me the moment she found out. She knows how important that was to me." The words sounded hollow even to him, but he had to continue, "she's a good person and she would never keep something like that from me. Are you sure you're not just telling yourself that because I've asked you for a divorce, because I'm in love with her and don't remember you?"

He knew he had gone too far, almost as soon as he said the words. Her hand shot out so fast that he heard the sound of the punch before he felt its connection with his jaw. He reached up and rubbed at the sting as he looked at her apologetically…damn, her tiny ass could pack a punch! "I'm sorry, Sam but you're trying to make me doubt the woman I'm about to marry and you don't even have any real proof. So what you heard Jake say something about a secret, that could've been anything, something he made up to impress his younger brother. And I know that Nicholas knew who I really was all along and kept it a secret for his own selfish reasons, but there's no way that he told Elizabeth, she would've told me, and nothing that you've said here is proof that she knew."

Sam wanted to punch him again. She wanted to take all of the frustration that she's had with the entire situation, all of the anger that she's felt about how unfair it all was, and pack it all into a punch that would land him on his ass all the way outside in the yard, but instead she clenched her fists and screamed. She bent over at the waist and put all her strength into the scream. Patrick had gotten mad and stormed out tonight because they'd been fighting about Jason and how Sam was determined to out Elizabeth's part in the coverup of his identity. He couldn't understand that she just wanted Jason to know the truth, so he could make informed decisions about his life and not be manipulated by the very people that he trusted. Now, here Jason himself was defending Elizabeth too, again. Sam had enough. She just wanted it all to go away. She screamed again for good measure, oblivious to him dropping to his knees in front of her, hesitant to touch her, with his arms extended awkwardly in front of him, his face worried as he looked at her with concern. "Sam, please, it's going to be okay. We'll figure everything out. Please, stop Sam, please."

But she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop all the pain, and grief, and anger, and frustration that was coursing through her heart. Sam screamed for the perfect life that she had finally made for herself, a life with her husband who loved and wanted only her. She screamed for the loss of their perfect home with their son between them, enjoying their long awaited family together. She screamed for how short that time had been, for how cruel life had been to their son. She screamed for the man who came back but who was not her Jason, and she screamed for not being able to stop screaming. The tears soon followed what turned into silent screams, as her knees hit the floor now, trailing giant sobs that wracked her entire body, the anger and frustration pouring out of her soul.

Jason was horrified. He didn't know what to do, had no clue what she needed in that moment. Her wracking screams hit his ears and tugged at his heart, as he reached his arms around and wrapped her into his body. She fought his embrace, her arms splaying wildly as he tried to hold her, the screams subsiding into sobs, tears streaking her beautiful face. He ignored the protest and held her tightly to his chest, trying earnestly to soothe her, rocking their bodies lightly from side to side. "It's okay, Sam, it's okay." A couple minutes later, she had stopped fighting him and her sobs grew soft. "I'm sorry, Sam, it's okay."

Sam shoved herself out of Jason's arms and stood to her feet, brushing away the helping hand he tried to offer her. She wiped furiously at the unwanted tears on her face, speaking icily to him as she turned away from him to face the terrace doors. "I'm fine, please go."

Jason stood up also, still unsure of what to do, knowing only that he was not ready to leave. He could not leave her like that, he had never seen Sam like that before and he didn't know what to do. "I can't leave like this Sam. Please tell me what's wrong?"

Sam turned to look at him incredulously. "You can't be serious?"

It hurt him to see how much he was hurting her, and he didn't quite understand it. She had told him many times about the once in a lifetime love that she shared with her late husband, and in the time spent as Jake Doe, he had seen how much she missed him, but they had gone their separate ways, life had taken them in two different directions and he thought that they had agreed that the decisions they'd made were for the best. She had found love again, had found a safe haven for herself and her son, with a good man who made them happy, and even though seeing them together always seemed to hurt a little, he was certain that's what his old self would want for her and Danny.

"Sam, you have a new life now, we both do. I can't remember our lives together and I'm sorry, but those memories may never come back."

She met his eyes fiercely, "if you keep saying you're sorry to me, Jason, I swear I'll slug you again!"

"But I am, Sam. I've hurt you and I don't mean to. I know how much you want me to remember and probably pick up where we left off, but I don't, and I can't. I'm in love with Elizabeth."

The sound of the woman's name was not in the least bit soothing to her. "I'm more than aware of how you feel about Elizabeth, Jason. You've always thought the world of her and nothing could ever change that, no matter what she did or who she hurt. In your eyes she was always in need of protection and forgiveness and you were always first in line to give her both."

"She's been good to me, Sam. I can't see her doing the things that you're accusing her of."

"But you can see me doing it, is that it? You can see me standing here, lying to your face about something this important?"

"I never said that."

"Well, one of us has to be lying, Jason, and if it's assuredly not your sainted Elizabeth, then it must be the needy ex, trying desperately to hold on to you, right?"

"Stop putting words in my mouth, Sam. This situation is hard on everyone, I know that you're not trying to hurt anyone, but think about what you're asking me to believe, here. How am I supposed to believe that the woman who's been my rock since I woke up in the hospital, has been lying to me about something as life changing as this? We're planning a life together, I trust her."

Sam stepped towards him slowly, her arms folded tightly across her body as though to hug herself, "you know what's funny, Jason? A long time ago I probably would've lied to try to hold onto you. I probably would have done anything to keep you with me, but you…you came into my life and showed me that there was a better me that I could be for myself. You taught me that I didn't need to lie, and cheat, and manipulate to be loved, that I was enough, just by being me. But that was a long time ago, I am not that woman anymore and I haven't been her in many years. I have a son who needs me, I have a family with Patrick that I love being a part of, I have purpose in my life, and people who care about me." She took another step for emphasis, "and you used to know that I would never lie to you."

Jason felt a twinge of guilt as her jab struck a chord in him. She was right, in the year that he could remember knowing her she had never lied to him. She had been a voice of reason and his biggest champion in his quest to uncover his identity. Deep in his heart he knew that she wasn't lying to him now, but the alternative was too painful to accept. "I can't accuse Elizabeth of lying based off anything you told me tonight, Sam. You have no proof that she's lying and I can't hurt her for no reason."

"No reason, Jason? Here's a reason…how about you deserve to know the truth and to be able to make your own decisions for your life? How about Helena and everyone else have been using you for an entire year, taking away your choices and treating you like an object, instead of a person? How about you have a little boy asleep upstairs who spent years not knowing your love, because of other people's choices for your life? I can give you a slew of reasons, Jason, but you're not interested in any of them, because the truth is that you _can't_ trust Elizabeth, and you've somehow turned into this scared, obedient individual who prefers to live behind the foggy curtains in front of you, because what's behind them is way too _truthful_ for your liking."

He didn't appreciate being called a coward, and Sam saw the way his chin shot up at the harshness of her words, but she would not stop there. "When you thought that you were married to Hayden Barnes, you went as far as to move into her hotel room with her, slept in a bed with her night after night, because you thought the honorable thing to do was to give your marriage a chance, to try to recover your memories of your life with her. Yet, when you find out you're _really_ married to me, suddenly it's a different story! You can't ask for a divorce fast enough, and you don't want to remember a damn thing about your life as Jason Morgan. You don't want to remember making that precious little boy with me, because you're committed to a sweet little life with your life long saint." Her voice turned bitter and biting, "tell me something, Jason, after you found out who you really were, did it feel like you were home at last when you went to Elizabeth's bed that night and every night since? Do you feel like your life has been leading you to her this whole time, like fate brought you back to this town, to these people, to _her_ life again?"

She was waiting for an answer.

Jason dragged his hand through his hair and sighed heavily. "Look, Sam, Hayden was a completely different story, okay.

The need to reach him was intense, that connection that they'd always shared raging to find home with his heart. Sam laid her hands on Jason's arms as she looked earnestly into his concerned blue eyes, awash with unanswered questions. Her voice was almost inaudible, shaking with the intensity of her emotions as she asked, "did you go back to her bed that night?" The question in his eyes grew more complex as he started to say, "Sam…"

She needed to finish. "That night when you found out that you were married to me, that we had shared a life and a child together, the night that you realized that you were the man that had meant everything to me for so long, the man that I died for when he died, what did you do that night, Jason?" Her whisper grew lower, as she leaned her head to the side and looked up into his face. "Did you, Jason? Even with no memory of our love or our time spent wrapped up in each other, were you able to climb into bed with another woman and make love to her that night?"

The forlorn look in her eyes was pulling at the very core of his heart. "Sam, please don't do this."

"What, Jason? Don't what? Don't tell you that I remember every kiss, every touch, every lingering caress that we shared? Don't tell you that I have missed every late morning in bed, every rain dance and rooftop dinner where we lost ourselves in each other? How do I not tell you that every breath that I took after you died was possible only because of the sweet baby that you left me to hold?"

As soon as she said that, Jason was transported to a place he didn't recognize. Sam was there, a much younger Sam, and she was crying, he was hurting her again. Why did he always seem to hurt her so much? She was saying something to him…" _but our child, Jason, our child will be my love, my heart, my constant reminder of you_."

Jason found himself whispering as the memory played out in his mind…" _you may have to leave me, but you do not have to leave me alone_."

Sam didn't understand. "What?"

Jason was in shock. He had just had a crystal clear memory of Sam, where they had talked about having a child together, a little part of him that he would leave with her when he died. The rawness of the emotions and the connection that they'd had in that moment was breathtaking to him. He had loved her so deeply, and he was so sad to see her crying, hurting so much at the thought of losing him forever. He had felt such an immense need to hold her and to make everything okay. He never wanted to leave her, she was everything to him and he had to find a way to dry her tears and ease her pain. The thought of leaving her with a part of him was everything. "You, Sam. I just remembered you."

She perked up in curiosity. "What did you remember?"

"We were alone together in a house somewhere near the beach, I could hear the waves outside. You were crying, saying that I didn't have to leave you alone, that the only thing that you really wanted was…". He trailed off as she finished, "…a baby."

Sam sighed softly, "Hawaii," she whispered. "We loved it there." Tears welled up in her eyes as she recalled the conversation that had ended so much better than how it had started. "You remember us?"

He nodded hesitantly and answered her unspoken question first, "I don't remember anything else, only that I hated to leave you and would've done anything to take the pain away."

Sam turned away from him and hugged her body tightly. "You should go, Jason. Just go home to Elizabeth…I'm sure she's wondering where you are." The words cut like a knife through her already fragile heart but she knew he was not her Jason anymore.

Jason was torn to shreds. He knew she was right, but a part of him wanted to stay with her, felt like he needed to stay with her. He didn't understand it, he didn't know what to make of the memory or the intensity of the feelings that accompanied it. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, the sheer depth of it leaving him almost breathless. He looked at Sam, marveling at the love he'd obviously once felt for her, and he wondered…was everyone right? Was he making a mistake? Was he giving up his destiny because all he knew was his present?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next morning Sam woke up at her mom's house with a pounding headache and a heavy heart. She had given Patrick his ring back the night before and packed up her son and left his home for good. He'd returned less angry than he had left so they'd been able to have a civil conversation where they each pointed out to the other that they needed to heed the writing on the wall. Both were forever in love with someone else, and although what they were building together was sincere and significant, it was something that would have gotten them through life not being alone, but lacking the fire that they had both found with their soulmates. They were comfortable together, and they loved each other's child fiercely, but there was no way for it to last given what they now knew. They had parted as friends and Sam knew it was for the best.

She looked down on her ringless finger and sighed sadly. Truth was, the huge engagement ring had been a true representation of their relationship…it was beautiful, but it was not her. She always preferred something smaller, something more understated, like her first engagement ring, like her wedding band. The man who gave her both knew her so very well, but she also realized that man no longer existed. Sam sighed again as she got out of bed and headed downstairs. She'd heard her parents moving around and knew she needed to let them know she was there, since she hadn't bothered to call or wake them up when she'd brought Danny over late last night. She was not looking forward to relaying the events of the previous evening to her parents, but knew it had to be done. She gritted her teeth and went down to face the interrogation.

After relaying the current situation to her parents and assuring them that she would be fine, Sam decided that she was overdue for a vacation. She sat outside on the screened back porch for what seemed like hours, mapping out what needed to be done, and then she knew where they'd go. She needed to take her baby and give this town a break. She needed to be somewhere that she would be able to breathe, to focus, to plan her next move. Port Charles was home, but right now she needed some time away from home, away from the madness that her life had turned to, seemingly overnight. She would pack up her precious baby and they would leave the dreary winter with it's dismal outlook, to sail the Caribbean for a couple glorious weeks. Danny would love it, he took to water like a fish and she usually had to drag him from the ocean whenever she took him to the beach. Yes, she needed desperately to be somewhere else for awhile.

Two hours later, she was ready to go. She had called in a favor from a friend and had the keys to a yacht in the marina, had calmed her parents down from their wild insistence that she didn't need to abandon her life and run away because of Liz and Jason, and was waiting for Molly to get back with Danny so they could take off. She had called Jason and advised him of her plans and he had tried to talk her out of it, saying Christmas was the following week and he wanted to spend his first Christmas with both of his boys. Sam told him there would be other Christmases, but she needed to get away and her son being her touchstone was the medicine that she needed. He must have felt bad about his role in her current state of mind because he backed down and said he understood but wanted to see her and Danny before they left. Sam agreed to meet him at Kelly's but at the last minute, had Molly take Danny instead. She wasn't prepared to see Jason again so soon after the emotional roller coaster ride from the night before and all she wanted was to put some distance between them for a little while. She needed to regroup, and Jason Morgan had forever been able to scramble her mind and leave her discombobulated.

Two glorious weeks had been spent on the water and Sam and Danny returned to Port Charles relaxed and happy. Danny had loved every minute of their adventure just as Sam knew that he would. They'd spent lazy days fishing off the side of the yacht and Sam had been tickled everytime her son caught a fish. He would squeal with such jubilation when he got it onboard, moving to touch it then jumping back as it fluttered on the floor, giggling his gorgeous little head off. Afternoons were spent swimming or touring the ports where they'd stopped for the day, but her very best time was at night under the stars, showing her son the different constellations and regaling him with stories of her trips around the world. Danny couldn't believe his mom had sailed to so many of the places that they'd read about in his travel books, and as the Captain of her own ship too. They would eat hamburgers and ice cream and Danny would have a million questions about pirates and sea monsters, and Sam delighted in the mirth in his eyes the entire time. She absolutely loved their nights spent at sea.

During their two weeks away they had called her mom and sisters every day to reassure them that they were fine. During that time Sam had learned that she and Jason had been granted the divorce that she'd had her mom file weeks before, and that Elizabeth had wasted no time putting together a quickie wedding and getting to her I dos. At first Sam was taken aback, she couldn't fathom Jason being married to someone else, making a life with another woman. But then she'd remembered that the stranger in town was not her Jason, he didnot have her Jason's face nor her Jason's spirit, and she'd been able to wipe the silent tears away and gone back to enjoying her son. She decided that things would be very different when they got back into town, and anybody expecting her to fall in line was going to be rudely disappointed.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon when they docked back in Port Charles, having brought the New Year in at sea, leaving the old year in their wake as they returned home. Her sisters were waiting by the docks, waving vigorously as they sailed into view. Sam had Danny sitting in her lap and he was super excited to be steering with his aunts watching. He waved and beamed at seeing them, "look, momma, it's Aunt Krissy and Aunt Molly." His smile was radiant and proud as they disembarked and Molly swept him up into waiting arms, kissing his cute little cheek. "Did you see me, Aunt Molly? Did you see I was sailing?"

Molly and Kristina laughed as Molly replied, "I sure did and you're really good at it."

"Two weeks at sea and you become a Captain, huh Danny?" Kristina said as she ruffled his hair then took him from Molly's arms to get her hugs and kisses in.

"He's a real natural, that one," Sam added as she hugged her sisters too. Just then Danny yelled, "Daddy!" and broke away from Kristina to dart towards Jason coming down the steps of the dock. Jason scooped him up in his arms and hugged him tightly, "hey, buddy!" He smiled brightly at his gleaming son, then hugged him again. "Welcome home, I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Daddy." His little arms encircled Jason's neck as he hugged him back.

"Did you have fun?"

Danny nodded his head excitedly, "uh huh, and Momma let me sail the boat and everything. I caught a fish this big!" He spread his little arms as wide as they would go, his blue eyes shining bright with glee.

"Wow, that's pretty big, buddy. Weren't you scared?"

Danny shook his head and laughed, "nah, Momma was my First Mate, nothing can hurt me when Momma's watching."

Jason was looking over at his ex-wife, who he couldn't help noticing was looking rested and tanned, her beautiful lochs drawn back into her signature ponytail, her favorite black leather jacket zipped up to her neck in protection from the cold. He realized how much he had missed them and the sight of them climbing off the boat that had taken them away for two miserable weeks was joyful and satisfying. "Hey, Sam." He spoke her name softly as she stopped in front of him.

"Jason, hi."

"Momma, it's cold in Port Charles. Can we go back to St. Barts?"

They all laughed at Danny as he wrapped his arms back around his father's neck and hugged him for warmth. Molly reached up to take him from Jason's arms.

"Come on, Danny, let's go get some hot chocolate from Kelly's. We'll load it up with heaps and heaps of marshmallows."

"Yea!" He grabbed Molly's hand as she placed him on his feet and they started off towards the stairs. "See you later, Daddy. Bye, Momma."

"Do you believe that? See how he just abandoned me for a pretty girl and a treat?" Sam laughed to Kristina as they watched them leave.

"Jason, there you are." Elizabeth came into view, passing Molly and Danny as they left, practically running to Jason and throwing her arms around him, kissing him on the lips loudly.

Sam and Kristina exchanged knowing looks and deriding smiles as Sam turned back towards the boat to start unloading their gear. "Here, let me help you, Sis," Kristina offered.

"Elizabeth, I told you that I wanted to welcome Danny home and see if I could spend the afternoon with him, what is it, is something wrong?"

She was a little taken aback by the annoyance in his tone, but if he thought that she was going to allow him to spend the afternoon alone with the harlot and her spawn to realize how much he probably missed them for the past two weeks, he didn't know her at all. She cringed a little thinking that he really didn't know her after all, if he knew the secrets that she was keeping she would lose him forever. She could not let that happen…not when she'd finally gotten everything that she ever wanted. Jason was her husband, the father of her children and as soon as she got him to adopt Cam and Aiden she'd be home free. She'd get him to finally take her on a honeymoon where she would get pregnant with their little girl to seal the deal. He would never leave them after that, no matter what he found out later.

She turned on the innocence and hiked up the sweetness, "I'm sorry, husband, but we're newlyweds after all, I just can't stand being away from you for too long. Besides, I was just leaving Kelly's when I noticed Danny and Molly heading that way, so I figured since you're done with your visit, why not stop so we can go home together?" He wasn't even listening anymore as he had run over and grabbed a duffle from Sam who was heaving it over the side of the boat. Elizabeth rolled her eyes in frustration. "Are you going to be much longer, sweetheart?"

Sam straightened up as Jason took the duffle from her and looked down at both of them, annoyance creeping into her slowly. "Oh, that's right, I heard congratulations are in order. Not for you Jason, you deserve pity in this situation, but to you Elizabeth…". Sam flashed the brightest fake smile she could muster, "congratulations to you indeed. You finally, finally got Jason to marry you and all it took was what - almost twenty years and amnesia?"

Elizabeth went white with fury. "Leave it to you to be bitter about our happiness, huh Sam? See what I mean Jason? She will never be happy for us, no matter how many times you show her that you love me and not her."

Sam's scoff was loud and incredulous, but just as she was about to retort, Kristina stepped up next to her and joined in, "Oh, please Mary Poppins, who other than Jason do you think you're kidding? My brother-in-law has been in love with Sam since before I was born and the only person here who doesn't know it is him."

Jason was looking uncomfortable with the exchange and Sam had turned back to grab Danny's last bag.

"Kristina, please, this doesn't concern you," Elizabeth tried to appear insulted, hoping Jason would take her side as she was being double teamed. He didn't even appear to be listening, just staring at the harlot's ass as she bent down to grab a bag.

"That's where you're wrong, prissy! You attack one Davis girl you have to fight us all, got that? Convincing Jason that he wants a quiet, boring life with you will only last as long as his memory loss lasts this time and you know it. What's the big plan here, you gonna hurry up and get knocked up so that when he remembers who his heart really belongs to he'll be too wrapped up in guilt to escape your tentacles?"

Sam had had enough, "Krissy, let's go. I need a long, hot shower like yesterday. Elizabeth is garbage we don't have time for." She was placing a bag on her shoulder when Jason reached for the strap, his fingers stroking her shoulder as he tried to take it from her.

"Here, let me help you take these to the car."

Sam shoved his hand away roughly, "I got it, Jason. We'll manage…just…go home."

Kristina grabbed what was left and followed her sister, throwing one last daggered look at Elizabeth to show her immense dislike for the woman.

"See what I mean, Jason? Sam will never be happy for us, I don't know why you bother. She's always been threatened by how much you love me and by the fact that I gave you your first son when she wasn't able to trap you with the baby she tried desperately to get pregnant with. First Sonny, then you…she'll never change."

Jason wasn't listening to a word she was saying. He looked from Sam's receding back down to the fingers of his left hand that still stung from the bolt of electricity that shot through them from him touching her shoulder. His heart was racing and his breathing was curiously shallow and as she rounded the corner and left his range of sight, he marveled at his yearning for her to come back. He was picturing her running back down the stairs, throwing herself in his arms, crushing his lips with hers, when he realized that Elizabeth was still talking. He turned when she grabbed his arm to spin him towards her urgently, "Jason, Jason what's the matter with you?"

He looked at her blankly as she asked again, "Jason, what's wrong, are you okay?"

He shook his head slightly to clear the very vivid image of firm ass cheeks bent over in front of him, begging to be grasped and slapped. "Yeah, of course, Elizabeth, I'm fine."

"Then what was that? Where did you go?" as if she didn't know.

"Nothing, c'mon, let's go."

Gladly, she thought. The sooner she got him home the sooner she could get to work on making him forget about the tramp. They had been married for three glorious days and had yet to consummate their marriage, but tonight was going to be the night. Her cycle had chosen the day before their wedding to show up and as ill-timed as it was, she knew she still had plenty of time to put her plans into motion. She had stopped using birth control the minute she'd found out that Jake Doe was Jason Morgan, and although she had pretended to understand when he'd told her he didn't feel right sleeping with her while he was still married to Sam, she comforted herself in knowing that the same kind of loyalty would let him stay faithful to her if his memories resurfaced after they got married. She could wait a few days to cement her future as Mrs. Jason Morgan, after all, she had waited almost twenty years already anyway. Now she didn't need to wait any longer, she was sure that her system had been flushed by now and as fertile as she'd always proven to be, getting pregnant the first night they spent together as husband and wife would be a piece of cake. She smiled devilishly at the thought. She had finally won!

They entered the house and Elizabeth excused herself to head upstairs and set a romanic mood in the bedroom for tonight. She had bought something special for the occasion and couldn't wait to put it to good use. The boys were spending the night at Gram's so she and her new husband were free to spend all night making their daughter. She had missed him in her bed for the fast couple months, Jason Morgan was an attentive and thorough lover, and tonight she would show him just how good she was going to be to him for the rest of his life. After tonight he would never think of Sam again. Had she known what was going on downstairs, she would have been worried out of her mind.

Jason sat on the couch and stared at his wedding photo sitting prominently on the mantel, its frame towering over the smaller ones of Elizabeth and the boys, him and Elizabeth, and even one with his old face. Everytime he looked at that particular photo of himself it gave him a very uneasy feeling that he had not been able to place. It was as though it was somehow out of place but he couldn't quite figure out why. He'd seen photos of his old face before, plenty of them in fact, had seen them online when he'd researched the mob enforcer, had seen them at Carly's and Sonny's house, and even at Patrick's house where Sam had one of him and Danny displayed for their son. Sam. Sam had always told Danny about his father, how much his father had loved him, and kept pictures of him so that his son would never forget what his father looked like. Sam was a wonderful mother to his son and as he thought about her now, he kept going over the instances in which he'd noticed what a great mother Sam was. The very first time they'd met at that hospital, she handled her son with such love and looked at him with such devotion that anyone could see that they shared a very special bond. She was always holding and kissing him, ruffling his hair and tickling him. Danny was a very happy boy, it was evident in the way he laughed all the time, the way he ran to his mother's arms as soon as he spotted her, the way his eyes shone even when he was being quiet. Sam was to praise for all that, she had been raising their son all by herself, while he had been foolish enough to put himself in a position to be taken from their lives when they needed him to be there for them.

Jason thought back to the time he had spent with Sam as Jake Doe, how easy it had always been to be around her, how much she made him laugh, and how calm she remained in a hectic and dangerous situation. Not only was she a flawless beauty, but Sam Morgan was all woman. From her delicious curves, to her feisty persona, to her kickass, take no prisoners attitude, she was the complete package. Patrick Drake was such an idiot to let her get away from him. At that thought Jason realized that as much pleasure as it gave him to know that Drake would not be touching Sam again, making love to her, claiming her heart anymore, he also realized that he too had been a tool to let her go. He scoffed at himself in derision and as his thoughts strayed again to Sam's very kissable lips and the teasing, tantalizing smile that reached all the way to her eyes, his eyes drifted again to the photos on the mantel. It was as though they were placed in a way to tell a story, and as he stared at the one of his old face again, he suddenly realized what was bothering him about it.

Jason got up off the couch and moved over to the mantel, lifting the photo in his hands and really looking closely at it. Why did Elizabeth have an old photo of him prominently displayed in her home? She had told him early on that it was a photo of her friend and father of her son, and she had shared their past with him, telling him that she missed her friend everyday. At the time it hadn't struck him as odd, but now, after everything that he now knew, he found it quite odd. From what everyone had told him, at the time of his 'death' he and Sam were working on their marriage, and although there had been a brief period of flirtations between he and Elizabeth while he and Sam were separated, they were not together and hadn't been for several years before that. She had even been involved at the time with some deranged doctor from the hospital. In addition to that, the son that they had together was presumed dead, so why exactly did she have a photo of her ex and Sam's husband, displayed in such a poignant place in her home? Jason walked over to the dining table, recalling one afternoon when he came in and found the very photo on that table, indicating that Elizabeth had been sitting there, staring at it for who knows how long? Why? They had been planning a life together then, and she had professed how in love with Jake Doe she was, so why was she so obviously enthralled by an old picture of Jason Morgan?

Jason moved to sit back on the couch again, all the unanswered questions swirling around his brain, seemingly mocking him with how close he was to the actual truth of it all. What was Elizabeth keeping from him? Sam had been adamant that she knew who he was a long time ago but he just couldn't make himself believe that about her. She was hiding something but he doubted that it was anything as sinister as that, afterall, didn't _everyone_ have something to hide? In fact, wasn't _he_ hiding the fact that he was hopelessly in love with his wife? His eyebrows rose in shock as he realized it wasn't his current wife that had his heart all apitter, but his ex-wife! He was very much in love with Sam Morgan! Jason had realized when she'd left that he missed her more than he could explain to his puzzled brain. The two weeks that she had taken their son and left his life had been the longest two weeks that he could remember, and as he struggled with what that meant, he was also struggling with the fact that he was also in love with Elizabeth, had promised her and her boys a lifetime together, and he couldn't go back on that promise. Especially not when Sam wanted nothing to do with him. He had hurt her and insulted her when all she had ever shown him was friendship and kindness. His confusion and anger at the impossible situation they were all in had caused him to lash out at the one person that he should have bent over backwards to understand and appease, after learning he was in fact the love of her life, resurrected from the dead over a year before. How was he going to make amends and get Sam to forgive him? She couldn't stand to be around him, had shown him this afternoon that she didn't need him and didn't want anything to do with him. Meanwhile he had just promised Elizabeth and her boys, forever. ' _Forever_ ,' what was it about that word that made his heart beat faster, made his brain tick like there was something on the cusp, something important that he _needed_ to remember?

Jason got up and went to the mantel again, staring this time at the recent wedding photo of him and Elizabeth, her white dress making her look like a princess in a fairytale, only, he wasn't seeing Elizabeth anymore. He wasn't seeing a princess wedding dress but a Goddess in jagged white, her dark wind kissed hair cascading over her shoulders, turning towards him from a balcony, and Jason had never seen a more beautiful sight. " _Sam, you look…amazing!_ " The memory hit him like it was yesterday, she was worried about tradition, that he was seeing her in her dress the night before the wedding… _their_ wedding…the beautiful Chinese garden where they exchanged vows as the Dragon and the Phoenix… _alone they bring happiness, but together they bring double happiness_. He, the Dragon, a symbol of strength and protection, her his Phoenix, a symbol of luck and prosperity. Jason was thrown by the memory of his wedding to Sam, but more than that, he was floored by the enormity of the love he felt in those memories. His heart was bursting, overflowing with love for her, counting down the minutes until Robert would pronounce her his wife for all eternity. He had waited so long to get to that point, to make her his wife, his life partner, his always and _forever_. She was always _it_ for him and he knew in that moment before Mr. and Mrs. Yi, and Robert Yi, that he would never ever leave her side again, that she was his heart and soul and he would love her better than any man was known to love a woman, _forever_. Sam was his wife! He had loved her above all others!

Jason was breathless as he looked up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of Elizabeth setting a snare and he realized with trepidation that he wanted no part of it. He could hear the soft sounds of Kenny G's trumpet and he could envision the room lit with candles with Elizabeth waiting for him in their marriage bed, and the thought literally terrified him. _"I love you forever."_ He had said those words in another marriage bed, the one where he was meant to spend forever, and he realized in that moment that he wanted to be there again. More than anything, he wanted to be there again. Only, his wife wanted no part of him…his _ex-wife_ , shit!


	4. Chapter 4

_Nausea Alert! This chapter starts off kind of gross - I could barely write it, but the story must go on, so here goes._

 **Chapter 4**

Deciding that it was time to get to the truth and take his life back, Jason climbed the stairs with an almost heavy heart. If he was wrong, he would be hurting someone he loved who had been good to him, in a really cruel and unforgivable way. But if he wasn't wrong, if Sam wasn't wrong, he needed to put an end to the lies this very night.

The room was as he'd suspected she'd been setting it up, several large candles lit on the dresser, soft music coming from the stereo and Elizabeth, his new and angelic wife, was laying in the middle of their bed, a lovely vision in white lace, waiting for him. "What took you so, long? I was about to come see if you'd forgotten about me." She sat up on her knees and reached her hand out to signal him to come to her.

Jason walked over slowly and leant down over the bed, bracing down on his fists as he leant into her and whispered, "forget my wife on our honeymoon? What kind of husband would I be to do such a thing?"

She smiled seductively as she realized she was about to get her way. "You're the very best husband there is, and I'm going to show you just how good I'm going to be to you, starting tonight."

She clasped his face between her hands and brought his lips to lock with hers. As she kissed him and ran her hands through his hair, she slowly moved them down over his strong arms, pulling him towards the bed, laying back as she went, guiding his body down to cover hers. She parted her legs and wrapped them around his as he braced his arms on either side of her head on the mattress.

Jason let his lips leave hers to travel to her neck, using his tongue to tease and caress the soft skin then trailing back up to her earlobe where he worked it between his teeth lightly. "You're so beautiful, Elizabeth. You're everything I've ever wanted."

Elizabeth was in heaven. Jason's tongue, his lips, his words all she'd ever need was him. He was hers and he was here with her the way she knew it was meant to be. "I love you, Jason. I've loved you for so long."

Jason kissed a trail down her neck and back up to her lips, putting everything into the kiss, using his tongue to dance with hers to make her light headed, whispering as he moved to kiss her chin and bathe it with his tongue, his fingers kneading at her breasts. "I wasted so much time. Time that we could've always been this good together?" He kissed her hard again before he added, "But you knew, didn't you baby? You knew when I was so blind. How can I ever make it up to you?"

Elizabeth was giddy with need, "love me forever." His kisses had her wet, left her yearning for more, more, as his strong hands roamed her body, a fiery trail blazing everywhere he touched. "I knew from that first night I brought you home you'd never leave me again." His tongue in her ear made her dizzy. She loved him and he was hers, would be hers forever after tonight. "We'd make love and you'd never leave me again." She moved to kiss his lips but they were no longer on her, his entire body was moving away from hers. She smiled up at him, waiting for him to shed the clothes he'd stood up to rid himself of, but he wasn't undressing, instead he was just staring at her, his face a stern mask, seemingly… _angry_?

Eyes that had looked at her with such desire only moments before were now icy cold and accusing. It took a moment for her to realize what had happened, for the fog to clear from her enraptured mind and the words spoken between them to register.

She stuttered as he backed away from the bed, away from her as though stung and repulsed. "J-Jason, what is it? What's wrong?"

"How long?" he glared at her as if seeing her for the first time, having heard the words with his own ears, yet disbelieving their authenticity still.

When she didn't immediately respond his temper flared, "HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?"

She recoiled as if he'd slapped her, but Jason was not to be deterred. She would tell him the truth if he had to drag it out of her. She tried to stall, tried to come up with a quick lie, her wits failing her miserably. "Know what, Jason?"

He was back on the bed now, menacingly close to her face. "What night exactly was it that you knew that I wouldn't leave? You know, _the first night that you brought me hom_ e?"

She needed to turn things around and quickly. "Jason, please, you misunderstood. I only meant that…" he cut her off before she could finish.

"Before you speak, before you dig this hole even deeper for yourself, know that if you tell me ONE more lie I will walk through that door and you will never see me again."

He was so cold, she could not believe this was the same man who had her on fire just a minute ago. She looked in his eyes and saw the promise in his words and she knew that her only hope now was to come clean. "Jason, please, you don't know what you're saying."

He looked into her eyes, his own probing and distrusting. "What did you mean by I'd never leave you _again_?"

Elizabeth was in a panic but her mind kept racing to find a way out, to explain everything she'd done. Surely, he loved her enough to understand? He always forgave her everything, he would forgive her now, right? She couldn't take that gamble, would try one more hand. "I only meant that you'd left me once before, when Hayden showed up, so when you came back I knew you'd never leave again. Our love had been tested, but she'd lied, and you were free to pursue a life with me and my boys." She was sure she could keep rambling until she'd talked her way out.

Jason felt the disappointment hit his heart and he couldn't believe he hadn't seen any of the signs before now. She was so edgy, so desperate for him to believe whatever tale she spun. His voice was low and biting. "Problem with that Elizabeth, is that I didn't leave you when Hayden showed up, _you_ left _me_. You insisted that I go back to my wife, so think again about my question and try to tell the truth this time." He aligned his face with hers, cold eyes level with frantic ones, his nostril flaring in barely contained fury. "This is it, Elizabeth, consider your next words very carefully, they will determine what happens next."

He was seething with a quiet anger and Elizabeth couldn't fathom how they got here. How had her perfect romantic evening that started off with such promise, gone so very, very wrong?

"How long, Elizabeth, how long did you know I was Jason Morgan?" he asked again.

It was no use. He would catch her in another lie and then he'd leave. She couldn't risk it. "The Nurses Ball," she whispered.

He straightened up from the bed, looking down at her with acute disappointment lacing his eyes.

"May? You've known who I was since May?" He felt like the wind had been knocked out of his sail, as if someone had kicked him in the gut just for the hell of it. He started a path across the room, then whipped back to face her, "why? Why would you do this?"

She knew she could make him understand. Jason loved her and they could get through anything. "It was my time to be with you, Jason." She hurried to continue when she saw the incredulous look cross his face. "You and I have wanted to be together for so long, have loved each other for so long, but the timing was never right for us. Something, someone else, always got in our way." She was pleading for him to understand, "but that night as I stood on the stage and I looked out at everyone, they were so happy, Sam was with Patrick and Emma, she had moved on and Patrick, Patrick loved her so much." She saw him take a step back, his face telling her that she was losing him with her explanation, so she hurried on, "and you, you had found your way back to me without even knowing who you were. Face it Jason, you didn't fall back in love with Sam, you didn't connect to Carly or any of them, you fell in love with _me_ , you remembered _our_ son. You even remembered my name. I knew Jason, I knew then that a miracle had brought you back to me, and we could finally have our time."

His expression hadn't changed, he still looked at her as though she had taken complete leave of all her senses. "Our time? What the hell is that? You let my wife, my mother, everybody who loved me continue to believe I was dead because you thought it was _our time_? Have you always been this crazy and I just didn't see it?"

"Jason, you know in your heart that you and I belong together. You love me, you've wanted to be with me for years. When you came back you no longer had any obligations to Sonny and the mob, you didn't have to run around cleaning up after Carly and her ungrateful bunch and Sam and Danny were happy with Patrick. You were free and clear to be with me and you were happy, _we_ were happy, finally." She lunged off the bed and threw herself at him, grabbing his arms to make him hear her, aware that her barely there lingerie was still all she wore and praying it would help her convince him.

Jason picked up her robe from the bed and threw it at her. "I had you pegged for a decent, kind individual Elizabeth, where has this needy, insecure girl been hiding all this time?" He wanted to shake some sense into her. "What gave you the right to play God with my life? With any of our lives? What gave you the right to decide that my family shouldn't stop missing me and grieving for me? What gave you the right to decide that my mother didn't get to know that she had one child left that she hadn't buried? How do you know that this experience hadn't changed me enough to make me _want_ to change my life? How do you know that after what I'd been through, what my family had been through, that I wouldn't have stayed out of the mob for my mother, for my sons, for _myself_?" He really wanted to shake her, and so he backed up a few steps away from being tempted. "Your opinion of me is that I'm so weak that I can't decide for myself what life I get to lead and with whom I get to lead it?" His voice shook with anger and venom when he asked, "just who the hell do you think you are?"

Why wasn't she getting through to him, couldn't make him listen? Jason had always forgiven her and loved her through everything. "I'm the mother of your child, that's who I am. We have a son who needed you, _I_ needed you. I'm the woman who's always loved you and this was our time, Jason."

He spat the words at her angrily, " _you_ are not the only mother of my child Elizabeth! Sam and I built a life together, we have a son. She had the right to know that her husband didn't die and my son had a right to know his father. What makes your son more special than Danny - because he came from _you_? They are _both_ my sons and they _both_ have a right to know me and know that I'm their father! "

"Jason, please I love you, you know I do."

"You have no idea what that means. You stood by and watched me struggle for months to find out who I was, when all along you could have put me out of my misery. You could've easily saved me so much anxiety about my past and what kind of future I was going to be able to offer you and your children. You could've saved the people I care about months of pain and grief…love would have made you care enough to do those things.

He wasn't done with her. "What made _your_ so called love for me any more important than theirs? Sam was my wife! My _wife_ , Elizabeth. Whether you like it or not, I chose to marry her, to build a life with her, to give her my son and my heart, and I can assure you that she had my heart. I may not remember everything about my past but I remember how I feel about her and there's no way I would've willing left her for anyone, so I guess you know exactly why you lied. It wasn't for me, it wasn't for Sam, or Patrick, or anyone else but Elizabeth!

"Wait, Jason you remember?"

"I remember enough to know that I chose the life that I lived. My choices were my own, and the people who loved me supported those choices, they supported me."

"Then you should remember that you and I have always been great friends, and you should remember that you loved me before this. You know me, I know that you do!"

"What I know is that you knew exactly what you were doing! What exactly were you planning to do when I remembered my life? What were you going to do when I found out, and you and I both know that I would eventually find out, so what was the plan, mmm?"

He noticed how she turned red and pulled her robe closer to her body. Jason turned his head to slowly scan the room, then rest back on her when she couldn't meet his eyes. "You're kidding, right? Tell me you're joking?" Only, she wasn't laughing.

He stepped back and laughed dryly, rubbing an angry hand over his nose and mouth, to then raise his arms and shrug his shoulders. "Then again why not, right? I mean it worked like a charm before so why not?" His teeth were clenched as he spat out, "why not get pregnant again, accidentally on purpose this time?" He shook his head astonishingly when she didn't answer. "Who are you, Elizabeth? Has this always been who you were?"

"That's not fair, Jason. You and I are married and we love each other, what's wrong with us having another baby out of that love?"

"If you have to ask that question then I have no words for you." He swung his hand sweepingly in her direction, "I'm done here. I'm done with you and I'm done with this. Tomorrow, I call Diane to get this thing annulled and you can expect to work out a custody arrangement for Jake." He turned to leave but she stopped him by clinging to his arm, forcing him to face her again.

"So that's it? We have a disagreement and you just leave? You are my husband, Jason, we can work this out."

He shrugged her arm off and backed up towards the door. "I was Sam's husband before that Elizabeth, but that didn't matter much to you when you were plotting and scheming, so why should it matter now?"

"So what, you're just going to run crawling back to Sam, is that it?"

"If Sam would have me I would crawl on broken glass to get her back, but the truth is I don't know if she would even give me the time of day anymore. I'm damn sure going to try though, I can promise you that."

Without another word he walked away from her and out the door, needing to get as far away as fast as he could.

Jason slammed his way through the house and out the front door, jumping on his bike and speeding towards the outskirts of town. He rode for hours on end, the cold wind whipping his face and stinging his eyes, but still he rode. He couldn't figure out how he had allowed himself to get so used. Somehow, when he wasn't looking his life had become a free for all and it was open market on using Jason Morgan. Helena Cassadine thought she had every right to use him to execute anyone, including his wife, Nicholas Cassadine thought he should use him for monetary gain, and now the woman he'd loved thought she should use him as her personal puppet and bed warmer. When had his life been taken over without him noticing? All this time he'd thought he'd been making his own decisions and playing by his own rules but he was just an oblivious fool. The only person in his life who had allowed him to live by his own rules without expecting something from him was the one person who'd been hurt the most by it all. She got hurt when he died leaving her to raise their infant son by herself, and when he came back he kept right on hurting her for someone who it turned out didn't deserve to even speak her name. He didn't know how he'd go about making it up to her but he knew he had to come up with something.

After spending hours on the road that did very little to ease his mind, Jason headed back to town and realized that he needed a place to go. His emotions were still in turmoil but he was calmer and no longer felt the need to hit something. He thought about going to the MetroCourt but if Carly saw him she would have a million questions that he was not yet ready to answer, and if she didn't see him she would learn from the staff by tomorrow that he'd checked in and he would be faced with the same predicament. Just then Jason remembered that his key chain had a key for the penthouse at Harborview Towers. He knew that Sam's mom and sister had moved into a house so the penthouse was once again empty. He thought about calling Sam to check with her before heading over, but seeing the late hour he decided he'd talk to her the following day. He would need to explain everything to her and face her reaction anyway, so why not get some rest before facing that daunting task. He knew that was not going to be an easy conversation and could only pray that she wasn't still angry about their last run in.

Jason turned the key and entered the penthouse, grateful for the quiet ambiance that it had always provided. He hadn't been there since the night Helena had sent him to kill his wife, and as he looked around the darkened living room, he couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him when he thought about that night. He couldn't see being able to live with himself if he's armed her at Helena's bidding. The thought led him to wonder just how many times he'd threatened Sam's life in the past? He remembered the incident surrounding Jake and then there was the time that he freed Faison from police custody. How she could stand to look at him and not haul off and clobber him every time she saw him was a miracle. Jason moved through the darkened living room to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. That hadn't changed either, the top shelf still held his favorite ice cold brew. He'd just popped the cap and start to take a swig when the kitchen was flooded with light and the clear sound of a gun cocking got his immediate attention.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Jason?"

Jason turned around slowly, beer midair, to see a hotblooded man's living, breathing wet dream. Sam was standing in the kitchen doorway with one hand on the light switch and the other holding a nine millimeter pointed straight at his chest and for a minute his surprise at her being there was enormously outweighed by the picture she presented. All he could see was one hot, raven haired beauty in black yoga pants and grey tank, gun aimed, cocked to the ready, looking like she just stepped out of a dual photo shoot for Sports Illustrated and Guns & Ammo. Damn, his wife was hot.

"Jason, what are you doing?"

 _Not my wife, not my wife,_ he made his brain chant the sad reminder. He finally recalled his motor skills again and lowered the bottle, and with his mouth no longer agape was able to swallow, hard. "I'm, huh, having a beer." He lifted the bottle as evidence and was starting to wonder if she'd forgotten that she still had the gun pointed at him, when she finally lowered it to her side, a puzzled expression still evident on her face.

"How lovely for you, but why are you having it _here_?" Sam wasn't in the mood to be the least bit welcoming and she knew he picked up on it when he sounded a little bit hurt in his reply, "I thought the penthouse was empty."

"Well, it isn't!" She turned away from him and walked back into the living room, placing the gun on the coffee table before plopping down on the couch. "Next time try going to see Coleman, or even your best friend - the MetroCourt does have a bar, remember you used to work there?"

Jason followed her to the living room and sat in the chair opposite her, not daring to go too close having sensed that she'd thought about pulling the trigger earlier. "I'm sorry, I should have realized that you'd move back in here but for some reason I thought you and Danny would be staying with your mom for awhile."

"Yeah, well, that was ideal when I needed a minute to regroup. Let's just say that I'm me again so, minute over." She readjusted her position on the couch to pull her legs beneath her, running her hand through her long dark hair. "But I'm more interested in this new development at the moment. Why is Port Charles' latest newlywed slumming at his old pad, guzzling ale…trouble in paradise already?" Sam wouldn't hide the snide dripping from each word.

Jason's anger ignited again, thinking of all the months he spent being lied to, defending the person he trusted the most who he thought was his personal guardian angel. A picture of Elizabeth's face came to his mind, the always innocent smile that she used to cover the hateful lies that she lived, mocking him.

He rose from the chair and swallowed off the rest of the beer, moving towards the kitchen as he said, "mind if I grab another, you want one?"

Sam didn't answer. She noted how crushed and sad he looked and deep inside she knew instantly that he now knew the truth too, and just for a second, just for one minuscule, negligible second, the part of her that lived to nurture and protect him started to emerge, right before her new anger stomped it on its way out. It had always been her first instinct…if Jason was hurt, she'd make it better. If Jason called, she'd come running. Whatever Jason needed, she would be that for him and then some - but that was before. That was before he hurt her heart, yet again. However unintentionally, once again he had left her in tears, feeling like second best to his sainted, could-do-no-wrong, halo-wearing Elizabeth. No, she had no more tears to shed for that trainwreck. She had no more sympathy to give at that graveyard. He'd made his whiny bed, he could lie in it.

She watched as he came back into view, two beers in hand this time, holding one out to her as he came to stand in front of the couch. When she didn't take it from him, but just sat there looking him in the eye, the seething anger in hers told him to start talking.

Jason laid the beer down in front of Sam on the coffee table and sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy and he'd suspected as much. He sat back down in his previously vacated chair and looked her in the eye again. "Go ahead, you can say it."

He'd barely gotten the words out when he heard "I told you so!"

He was a little taken aback, didn't think she would really say it, but the defiance in her eyes told him that she had more that she intended to say. "I suppose I deserve that," his voice droned as he looked down at the beer in his hands and he realized that shame was what he was most prominently feeling in that moment. He felt shame for allowing himself to be duped so completely, and felt immense shame for the miserable way he'd unintentionally treated his wife and child because of that duplicity. He was ashamed that he hadn't fought harder to know more about his past and his family, literally running away from himself, and he knew that the fallout was far from over.

"When did she find out?" Sam needed to know.

"At the Nurses Ball." His shame was compounding by the minute.

Sam couldn't sit still anymore. A bound of energy lifted her from the couch to send her pacing the dining room floor. "That was seven months ago." She stormed over to him, "she's known who you were for _seven_ _months_?"

Jason could only nod his head, watching the fire burn in her brown eyes as the fury came to a boil.

"That sanctimonious, conniving, deceitful, little bitch!" Sam took a stunned step back as she studied the man sitting before her, her head about to explode, an anger so intense working its way through her veins. "She knew you were alive, living right here among us, interacting with your family, your children, and she said _nothing_?"

Jason didn't know how to best handle the situation. He could see the anger rising in her and without meaning to, his gaze drifted to the gun still on the coffee table, wondering for a second if he should make a move to unload it. Shaking off the thought he turned his gaze back to Sam, who had started pacing again. She came back to stop in front of him.

"Why, Jason? Why would she do this?"

Jason rose and took Sam by both arms, trying to calm her down. Sam flashed him off and stepped away from him, as much because of her raging anger as the acute discomfort his closeness brought her. "Don't. Don't you dare defend her actions to me or I swear I will shoot you again."

"I'm not, Sam. I would never defend what she d…" His eyebrows lifted in query just before he glanced at the gun, then back at Sam. "What do you mean again - you've shot me before?"

"Yes, and I'll shoot you again right now if you don't tell me that this is a damn joke!"

 _…I can't believe you shot me!_

 _you told me to take the shot._

 _But I didn't think you'd actually do it._

 _…It's not my fault that I shot you._

Jason looked at Sam now, incredulity mired in admiration and desire coursing through him, "you shot me!"

Something in his tone told her that he was remembering the incident at the lockdown of the hospital, but Sam was beyond Jason's memories in that moment. She had bigger fish to fry and he wasn't providing the fat, but she knew where to get it. She stormed past Jason and grabbed her leather jacket from the back of the chair and her keys off the desk. "Don't leave my baby alone, I'll be back in a minute."

She was almost out the door before Jason pulled himself from his memory infused stupor and realized what she was doing. "Sam, where are you going? Sam…" but it was no use, she was out the door, and he knew exactly where she was headed. He almost felt sorry for Elizabeth, but opted instead to call Diane and tell her to get ready to drop by the police station sometime tonight to post bail for his wife. " _Not my wife, not my wife_." The words played in his mind for the second time that night, but his beating heart told him that she had never really stopped being just that…his wife, Samantha Morgan. Fiercely protective, independently head strong, unwaveringly loyal spitfire, Samantha Morgan. Elizabeth was in for a world of hurt.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"You desperate, stupid bitch!" Elizabeth heard the words right before she felt the blazing sting. As soon as she'd opened the door, Sam was on her, slapping her face so hard her ear started ringing. She grabbed her cheek and fell back in shock, staggering from the sudden blow. Realizing what had happened, she flared up and returned the slap, catching Sam almost off guard, but only almost. Before she knew what was happening Sam had backhanded the other side of her face. Startled and stinging from the power packed blows, Elizabeth looked up to see Sam advancing on her again, murder in her eyes. Frightened, fight or flight kicked in, propelling her to put the couch between them.

"Are you crazy?" she yelled, "you can't just barge into my home and attack me! Get out, before I call the police!"

Sam was storming around the couch towards her, angry energy jumping off her in waves, but the wary bitch would not stand still, running the opposite direction to get away from Sam. "Crazy is what _you_ are, thinking that you were going to get away with keeping my husband away from me, keeping Danny's father out of his life." Sam stopped moving, looking at her now in puzzled anger, "you really thought you were going to get away with this, didn't you?"

Elizabeth was defiant, she felt justified in everything that she did for love. "Why shouldn't I have Jason, huh? You, Carly, everybody had moved on, you had somebody and you all were happy and living your lives just fine without him. I had no-one! He loved me. After everything that you all have done, why did you get to be happy and I didn't? I deserved to have him!" They didn't deserve to have Jason, he was too good for all of them.

Sam couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Moved on? Living fine without him? You have no _idea_ what Jason and I shared! You have no idea what I went through when I thought he was dead, what his mother, his family, what we all went through _having_ to go on without him! You think _you deserved to have him_ \- listen to how pathetic you sound, you fucking lunatic!" She moved toward her again but Elizabeth scurried to the far end of the couch. "Jason is a man, Elizabeth! He's not a toy for the taking, not a mindless object to be passed around for who thinks they _deserved_ him."

Why couldn't they just move on and leave her and Jason alone? He married her and they were so happy in their little sanctuary, away from all the hyenas. "You never loved Jason. He was nothing but your biggest score and a trophy to lord over me, admit it! You just can't stand that he lost his memory and me and my son were the only people he thought of. It killed you that it was me that he chose, me that he remembered, you know now that it's me that he really loves, and you just can't take it!" She wasn't about to let Sam get the upper hand, she would fight for her husband, she'd never let him go again.

Sam stopped moving again and leant back at her words, her head dropping to the side as if to ask, was she serious? "They never should've let your luny ass out of Ferncliff! Loves you, chose you? If you were so confident in his love for you, why not tell him the truth, like a real woman would have? Why not tell him who he was, tell him all about the great and wondrous love that you've shared for years, and watch him choose you? You had his ear at the time, you could have spun any tale you wanted about your great past and he wouldn't have known any different." Sam was getting livid again. "You know why you didn't do any of that? Because you have never been woman enough to keep him, and you know it! You have never been able to make him stay, and look, Elizabeth, where is he now? You lied, you schemed, you sold your soul to the devil to get my husband in your bed and he upped and left your ridiculous ass the minute he wised up to you. You knew from the start that the moment he knew who he was, knew the first thing about his life, who he loved, you would lose… _again,_ and _that's_ why you kept the truth from him!"

As usual, she didn't know what she was talking about, Jason loved her and he would remember that really soon. "Jason will be back. He just needs a little time to calm down and then he'll see that what I did was because I love him so much. Jason always forgives me, he always comes back." She didn't resist the ultimate knife twister, "when he found out who he was he divorced your whoring butt and married me! Me!" She pointed at her non-existent chest for emphasis.

Sam shook her head in disbelief and pity, putting her hands on her hips as if to address a child. "You'd had seven months to convince him that he was a completely different person, seven months in which you isolated him from his family so you could mold him into the version of Jason that suits your perfect, pristine, little world. Problem is sweetie, it takes a real woman to handle Jason Morgan, and you're finding out once again, that you fall miserably short of that very tall order."

"Jason wants to be with me and my son, he always wanted to be a family with us, until you trapped him with your spawn."

The jab at her son ignited Sam's fury to an inferno, and in a second she was jumping on the couching and leaping over the back to grab a startled Elizabeth by the hair as she tried to flee. Sending her crashing into the wall behind them, Sam spat out, "you intended for Jason never to know that Danny was his son, you deliberately kept my son and his father apart, you needy bitch!" She should've stayed up against wall, because the minute she stepped away from it Sam's fist connected with her eye, sending her head crashing back into the wall, instant pain and blurred vision her reward. Elizabeth flailed her arms, connecting a wild slap against Sam's head, and in the next instant Sam had her on the floor, slapping her silly.

"Sam, oh my God, what are you doing?" Sam felt strong arms lift her off Elizabeth, but still she clung to a fistful of the woman's hair, pulling her with her as she was being lifted, kicking to get loose. When strength that outweighed hers pulled them apart Sam sent one final kick in her direction, catching the bitch right in the kneecap. "Let go of me, get off me!" Her fury was raging still.

"Sam, stop this!" She felt herself being dragged to the other corner of the room, and only then did she realize that it was Dante Falconari who had pulled her off, his shock at seeing them fighting evident as he turned her to face him, asking her to calm down. "What are you doing, what's all this about?"

"Arrest her, Dante! She broke into my home and assaulted me, I want her arrested!" Elizabeth held the back of her head as she pointed at Sam with the other hand, shakily leaning against her couch, yelling for bloody murder.

Dante looked from the obviously battered woman to a seething Sam, and shaking his head, he said, "Sam, I have to place you under arrest, you know that right?"

"You better lock me up, Dante, because if you don't I'll kill this bitch with my bare hands."

"Ookay, too much information. Samantha Morgan, you are under arrest for the assault of Elizabeth Webber, you have…". He was interrupted as Elizabeth shouted, "Elizabeth Morgan!"

Sam scoffed audibly and Dante looked at Elizabeth questioningly as she continued, "it's, Elizabeth _Morgan_ , and that's why this insane woman broke into my husband and my home and attacked me, because she's jealous and bitter!"

"What's the point of throwing out the name when you can't keep the man? Learn to make him stay with you, make him _want_ to stay with you, then you can talk to me. And just so we're clear, this beatdown right here and each time I kick your ass after this, is about my son and the fact that you tried to keep his father from him. You and I are far from done, _BITCH_."

"Sam, please, you can't say things like that in front of a police officer," Dante said quietly.

"You heard her Dante, she just threatened me, you're my witness!"

Dante shook his head as he led Sam from the house by her arm, wondering why he had to be the one to answer this noise disturbance call tonight. As they exited, Sam yelled a parting barb, "what the hell kind of woman doesn't want a man to freely choose her? If you have to trick a man to keep him, Elizabeth, you're no kind of woman!"

"Sam, please, let's just get to the station so you can call someone to bail you out." Dante found himself marveling once again at the pull of Jason Morgan. For some reason, otherwise sane and rational women in this town seemed to lose their minds when it came on to the former enforcer. How he had all these beautiful women constantly at each others throats all the time had always been a mystery. The detective shook his head as he helped Sam into the back of the unmarked police car, guiding her so she wouldn't bump her head against the top of the door.

Sam got in the back of the car and sat silently on the entire ride to the PCPD. She had gotten out a fraction of the anger that she was feeling but the rapid shaking of her leg proved there was so much more to be released. As much as she wasn't looking forward to having to explain the night's events to her mother, she was quite anxious to get her phone call so her mom could bail her out, as she had one more battle to wage, albeit an emotional one.

 _***The next morning***_

 _Elizabeth came home from the market to what she thought was a most pleasant surprise, until she was met with the coldness that had taken root between them. Jason was sitting on the stairs, watching the door as she came through. She rushed toward him, excitement taking her over, only to halt in her tracks when his icy blue eyes scanned her coldly. He was in no mood to face the woman but he needed to be there._

"Jason, you're home." Her heart skipped a beat and she sent up a prayer of thanks in her glee. Jason had returned and he was obviously waiting for her. Finally, they could talk things through and she'd get her chance to make him understand her actions. She knew without a doubt that he would be back and he would let her explain, as he always had. Everything she'd done was to protect their love.

Jason didn't so much as acknowledge her assumptions. "Pickup the phone, call the PCPD and drop the charges against Sam!"

The true purpose for his presence there smacked her like a wet hand. "Why would you ask me to do that? She broke into our home. Look what she did to me!" She removed her shades and pointed to the new shiner she was sporting, going on to tell him why her head and knee were still throbbing and why she was achy all over. "She deserves to be locked up!"

"And what do you deserve? What do you deserve for playing with our lives for months, for taking what you wanted at our expense, for keeping me from my son? Tell me, what do you deserve to happen to you?"

He didn't seem to care in the least that she had been hurt by that vapid woman. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and a cold chill ran down her spine as his icy words rained over her heart. Would he actually hurt her, she wondered? He repeated his demand.

"Pickup that phone and drop the charges against my wife, now!"

" _I'm_ your wife! We made commitments to each other, Jason. We exchanged vows before God and our family, you can't just act like that never happened."

He approached her slowly, like a predator sizing up its prey, daunting in his quiet fury. "Your plots and your schemes got you my name, Elizabeth. Every promise I ever made you was based on a lie and a farce, _you_ saw to that. The love that I thought I felt for you was as real as the person that you've presented to me for months now." He would make damn sure she heard him this time. "It's becoming more and more obvious that my heart and soul have belonged to Samantha Morgan since the day she told me she loved me too, and she's the only woman I'll ever consider to be my wife. The way I feel about her is evident in every memory I've had of her, what I felt for the you that I built in my head didn't even skim the surface of what I feel for Sam." He was through with the games, "now I'm not going to ask you again."

"You've been remembering?" Instead of answering he stepped toward her and she knew he was serious. The way he looked at her chilled through to her soul, and she realized in that moment that Sam probably felt the same way when he'd threatened her life. She picked up the phone from the sofa table and made the call, telling the desk Sargent that she needed to speak to the Commissioner urgently, and in minutes she had Mac Scorpio on the phone. She relayed to Mac that she would not pursue any charges against Sam. She told him that she had been mistaken in her claim, that she got her bruises from clumsily falling down the stairs, had hit her head and blocked out and didn't realize when she came to that Sam was just trying to help her. She added that Sam was in her home by her invitation, something else that she had forgotten until now.

After lecturing her on the severity and the consequences for filing false claims to the police, Mac assured her that all charges would be dropped.

She turned to Jason to see he was looking at her with disgust. "I guess I shouldn't be the least bit surprised by how well you lie, but I am simply floored. How did I not know this side of you?"

"Everybody lies, Jason, your precious Sam is a pro at it, even made a living doing it."

"Yes, after Hayden was shot Sam told me all about her cons, I know all about that time in her life, but you, Elizabeth, you had me believing that you didn't even know how to tell a little white lie. Have I always been this gullible when it comes to you?"

Her head shot up at his insults. "You've always loved and supported me, Jason. We've been friends for almost twenty years and you've never treated me this way. This is all Sam's fault, she somehow convinced you to turn against the woman you love, you've never been this hateful, this cruel to me. This is not like you."

He laughed at her then, but there was no mirth in the sound. "Then I've always been a damn fool for you, haven't I? If I've never seen any indication of this side of you, hurt Sam and let you get between us with this bullshit, then my brain damage has affected me worse than I knew." He turned for the door, done with her, done with her silly games and her ulterior motives, done for good.

"Oh, and Elizabeth…" he paused effectively, one hand on the door, not even turning to look at her again, " _Sam_ , has always been the woman that I love." He walked out the door without another glance in her direction, not noticing how she crumbled to the floor in distress, heavy sobs wracking her body.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Sam and Alexis walked through the door to the penthouse tiredly, and while Alexis headed to the kitchen to make some much needed coffee, Sam headed upstairs to check on Danny. Minutes later she returned with a puzzled look on her face, "they're not here," she said to her mom exiting the kitchen with two mugs of steaming brew. Sam looked around for a note and finally noticed one on the desk. "Had to run out, Danny's with Monica."

Sam was both disappointed and relieved in that moment. She could really use a hug from her main man, as no matter the ache or the distress, Danny's hugs always did it for her, but she was also relieved that he wasn't around for a little while. The upheaval and turmoil that she was feeling at the moment was not the kind of energy that she liked having around her baby boy. She needed to punch out the pent up energy, so she took a swig from her coffee cup and indicated to her mom that she was headed back to her home gym. Alexis followed her, encouraging "good idea, take it out on something that won't get you arrested."

Five minutes into the punching bag and Sam's anger was still prominent. She pictured Elizabeth's face as she whacked the bag mercilessly, imagining the sound of bones crunching in response. "She knew, mom. She knew he was alive and she hid it from everybody. Who does that?"

"I don't know baby." Alexis was sitting on a bench watching her daughter intriguingly, marveling at the power encased in her tiny little body. She almost felt sorry for the silly nurse. She had learned many years ago that coming between Sam and the love of her life was a recipe for pain and retribution from her little dynamo. Sam was nobody's pushover, and the pain that she faced when she thought she'd lost her husband had been unbearable for her mother to watch. It had taken all of them months of begging and pleading with her to give up her notion that Jason was still alive out there somewhere trying to get back to her and Danny, and to move on for her sake, but especially for her son's. Sam had wanted no part of it, had kept hope for so long, until they'd finally convinced her that he was truly gone. They persuaded her to take a chance on Patrick and find some kind of happiness again, and just when she had finally listened and done just that, her world went into complete chaos. To now learn that the timid little nurse had the most valuable piece of information about Sam's husband and father of her child but had kept it to herself? Alexis almost felt sorry for her, because a furious Sam was a force to be reckoned with.

"Sick bitch!" Sam pummeled the bag tirelessly and the harder she hit, the stronger she felt. The stronger she felt, the harder she hit. Pretty soon Elizabeth's face had morphed into strong jawbones, a regal nose and striking blue eyes, and Sam found herself just as angry at her new target. She grabbed the bag with both gloved hands, lifting her right leg to knee it at the side furiously. After several powerful kicks she let her leg fall back to the floor as she steadied the bag, turning to face her mom, her chest heaving from her heavy breathing. "He let her do this mom. He let her do this to us, _again_!" She caught her breath then turned back to the bag, punches wailing at Jason's imagined face again.

Alexis rose from the bench and approached her, cautiously grabbing the bag from the other side and bringing it to a stop as she tried to calm her force of nature. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Calm down before you give yourself an aneurysm."

Sam pealed off the gloves and grabbed a bottle of water from the counter, swallowing a few gulps as her chest slowly calmed. That had felt pretty good.

Her mom was addressing her again. "Go take a shower and get some sleep. You can't function on adrenaline alone and Danny will need you to be his mom, even with everything around you in disarray, you still have to provide him with that sense of normalcy." She cupped both sides of her daughter's head and pursed her lips for a second before she continued, "we'll figure this out my sweet baby, don't you worry." Planting a kiss on her sweaty head, she continued, "now come, let's get some rest," as she guided Sam out to the living room.

Sam knew that her mom was right, she knew that she needed to first take care of her son, take care of herself, and then she could give what was left over to anything else. Jason could not be a priority for her in that instant, not when he had clearly proved that she and their son wasn't a priority to him. The realization left her sad and drained, and almost instantly she felt the weariness of the previous night and the morning sweep over her body. She let her mom out with the promise that she would rest, and after calling Monica to check on Danny, she headed upstairs to do just that. A steaming hot shower and shampoo later, Sam could barely keep her eyes open as she plopped onto her bed and allowed sweet sleep to claim her.

Hours later Sam was rested, calm, and ready to see her baby. She was grabbing her keys from her pocket mid stride towards the front door when she heard a soft knock. It was him. She didn't really want to see him, wasn't in the mood for "the" talk that needed to happen but maybe the sooner she put it all out there the sooner she could get back to her life and her son. The look on his face told her that he was dreading the talk almost as much as she was, and it gave her a tinge of satisfaction. Good, she thought, he should be sweating. "Come in." Her invitation was terse.

He walked into the living room, shutting the door behind him as Sam had turned to head over to the couch. Jason couldn't contain the nervous energy that made his palms sweaty in that moment. He rubbed them against his jeans as he took another faltering step over near the chair, looking at Sam, trying to gauge her mood. She wasn't giving anything away, the calmness she protruded in that moment was a stark contrast to the anger he'd witnessed when he last saw her the night before. Sam was unnerving when she was calm he was learning, he wondered now if he'd always felt that way. He watched her take a seat on the couch to face him inquiringly. He needed to say something to ease the tension, she obviously wasn't going to. "How are you, are you okay?" When she didn't answer immediately he continued softly, "I, huh, sent Diane to get you last night but she said your mom was already there so you didn't need her. I'm sorry you had to spend the night there, Sam."

She was glib, "hey, that was my own fault. Next time I beat a bitch I just have to remember not to do it in the middle of the night when there's no judge available to arraign me." She didn't miss his nervousness, enjoyed it even. The Jason Morgan she knew enjoyed being in control, he was used to being the one to leave his opponent sweating and off guard. She stayed silent, watching him search for a way to start the uncomfortable conversation.

"Look, Sam, I know you're sick of hearing it by now, but I really am sorry…about everything. This is all my fault, I handled everything badly and I know I have no right to expect it but I hope you can forgive me." He eased into the chair as he looked at her earnestly, waiting for her to say the words that would make this easier, somehow. He grew more nervous when she still said nothing. "I'm sorry, Sam."

Sam looked at the man who had so completely captured her heart and she remembered why she had lived for Jason Morgan, like she had ever really forgotten. She remembered every unique part of their relationship that was theirs alone, the impenetrable connection, the unbreakable trust, the unimaginable honesty between them, and those were the very reasons that she couldn't forgive his callous treatment of her heart, of her everlasting devotion. They had been to hell and back together, and the fact that he could not remember was prominent and significant, but his heart should have remembered what his brain had forgotten. If their connection meant as much to him as it always had to her, some part of him would have always stood up for her, could've never forgotten her. She found herself shrugging at his words as she replied indifferently, "and what, that's all it should take? Now that you've seen for yourself what everybody who loved my husband has been preaching to you for months, now that your eyes have opened to what a snake you've been sleeping with, all should be forgiven?" Dammit, her newfound zen was leaving her again.

He was taken aback by how cold she was. He didn't know quite what he expected but didn't think this was going to be it. She seemed so resigned, so nonchalant in the face of his sincere remorse. "No, of course not. I know I'll have to earn back your trust and I'm willing to do that, Sam. Just please, please let me."

Sam looked at him for what seemed like minutes then she sat up, leaning forward to place her elbows on her legs, clasping her hands together as she looked him in the eye. "Do you even understand how deeply you've hurt me?" The question was rhetorical, there was no possible way for him to grasp how deeply the knife had cut. "Jason, I think you should start by asking yourself the really difficult questions, like why do you hate yourself so much? And why was it so easy for you to allow someone else to manipulate you so effortlessly?" She didn't miss the hurt in his eyes, the questions behind them, as she continued, "did your saint tell you that you've been here before, that this is not the first time that you've lost your memory?" When he looked at her even more lost, she answered her own question, leaning back in the couch again. "Of course she didn't. Why would she risk telling you anything at all about your old life? Why risk anything that could've triggered you remembering?"

Sam couldn't stay still, leaning forward again to continue, "that's a big part of my problem with you right now, Jason. You hated the fact that you were Jason Morgan so much, that you couldn't even bother to ask the people who knew you about yourself. You were so busy living in the new fairytale existence that had been created for you that you couldn't even take the time to find out why so many people loved you, why so many people grieved you for so long, why they would want you back. The first time that you lost your memory you hated yourself when you realized that you could kill, when you realized all the dangerous things that you knew how to do, how you'd lived, and you wanted no part of it. But at least then you were curious to learn about your life. You asked questions about the people who mattered to you, about us. You wanted to leave your dangerous life behind and go off by yourself, but you gave in to what you knew you felt for me and it made you stay, but not this time, this time you just branded us all as outsiders and went on your merry way with your fairy princess."

"Sam, don't say that, please don't believe any of that. I cared, Sam, I wanted to know but at the same time there was so much going on around me that I had to make some really difficult decisions. Deciding to go ahead with the divorce was not easy for me, but I felt that I had to, for you and Danny as well as for Elizabeth's boys. You were happy, Sam. You'd managed to move on and find a safe life for you and our son, and her boys needed me. I had promised to adopt them and give them a complete home, and they were so looking forward to it that I felt like a louse for wanting to go back on those promises. I felt like I had no right to walk back into your life and put you and Danny back in danger again. I had to stay away, don't you see?"

She felt the sincerity in his words but they did nothing to appease the hurt in her heart. "What I see, Jason, is that each time that you lost your memory you hated the person that Jason Morgan was. Without your memories you wanted no part of the man I loved, no part of the beautiful life that we lived. It leaves to wonder, don't you think, what exactly is in your heart? Who do you truly want to be? It's clearly not the wonderful, selfless, giving, nurturing, kind man that I've loved for so many years. He doesn't cut it for you, so deep down you must really want that quiet suburban lifestyle that she offered you. Is that it, is that why she was able to fool you so completely for so long? Because all I'm hearing you say is how what _she_ needed was more important, _again_."

Jason didn't like the path their conversation was taking, didn't care at all for the resignation that she was showing, but he supposed that she had the right to question everything, to get answers to what troubled her the most. How had he missed how gravely he had hurt her? He honestly thought that she was happy and in love and had moved on from their past. He remembered their talks about him when he was Jake Doe, remembered how she had finally let him go on their fourth wedding anniversary, and he truly believed that she'd wanted a different life than anything that he could have offered her. Truly felt that she had deserved more than an amnesiac husband who couldn't remember their life together and possibly never would, who had fallen in love with somebody else when he thought he was free to do so, and he had stayed away to give her the room to live her new life with her new family. He could see now just how badly he had handled everything and he hated himself for what it did to her. "No, Sam, it really didn't have anything much to do with Elizabeth. When I found out who I was, I had already been struggling with the things that I knew that I was capable of. Killing those men who had Sonny was an eye opener for me..the way I ran into that warehouse and the ease with which I disarmed those men and took them down was nerve racking. Someone that dangerous, that lethal couldn't possibly be a good father or husband, I needed to distance myself from that man and become a better person. I'll admit that I judged you then, thought that if you had loved that monster of a man so deeply then you loved the danger that came with him, and I just didn't want to be him, Sam. So I let you go, I let _us_ go, and I'm so sorry."

Sam looked at him keenly, her eyes softening now as she said, "there was a time when that's all that it would have taken to get me back into your arms. I loved you so much and so completely that anything you wanted I was first in line to dish out, felt it was my duty to you, love of my life." She moved away from the hope in his ' _lose yourself in me' blue eyes_ to stand by the terrace doors, overlooking the quiet harbor. "But that was a long time ago, that was two very different people ago."

Jason could feel the door closing. "Sam, please, don't shut me out. Just tell me how I can make this up to you and Danny…what can I do?" He moved to stand closely behind her, so close that his breath fell on her hair and his chest was a mere fraction from her beautiful back. Everything about her was so damn beautiful to him. "How do I fix it?"

He was too close. She could feel the static energy that always existed between them, pulling at her to lean back against him and let him hold her, ease the fog from her mind and wipe away the sadness in her heart. But he had put it there, he had put it all there and she couldn't let him in again. Sam stepped over to the side to move away from the radiating heat trying to magnetize her to him, and signaled towards the door. "I have to go get my son, I've missed him terribly and I need to see him. You can let yourself out." She was abrupt again.

He knew she was shutting down. He had sensed the moment her heart closed to him, to his pleas, and he knew his work was only just beginning. He would give her the space that she needed but he would never give her up, never again. "Okay, Sam. Take as much time as you need, but I need you to know that I've been remembering a lot about us, and I don't intend to let you leave me." He continued before she could cut in to tell him she wasn't with him to begin with, "even before I remembered anything about us, I felt a very strong pull to you, something that I reigned in because you were somebody else's girl, but now I know that what I felt from the very beginning was my soul reconnecting with yours, and I intend to listen this time." He used a forefinger to lift her chin so she would look him in the eye, "I'm not going anywhere, Sam. I will be right here, whenever you decide to give us a shot again, I will be waiting right here for you."

Sam shifted her head so her face would slip from his finger, before she turned and moved purposely to the door, holding it open for him to exit before her. "You do what you want Jason, but I can't think about what you want right now. I've spent enough time doing that and all I have to show for it is more heartache and disrespect." She locked the door and crossed the hall to push the elevator button, "I'm good without all that bullshit right now."

He looked at her closely, stubbornly determined to shut him out, and Jason decided that if it's begging that she wanted then begging she was going to get. Whatever it was going to take was what he was going to do, because losing his wife again was not an option, whether she knew it or not. He smiled a little when he noticed how often he kept referring to her as his wife, because in his heart that's who she'd always be.

The electricity in the elevator wires wasn't the only producer of fiery static on that looong ride down to the lobby and as they exited and went their separate ways, each were as determined as the other to be the victor in the upcoming melee. Silent battle lines had been drawn.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"You know, I always knew you were a desperate and despicable excuse for a woman, but this is sad, even for you!"

Oh, God, Elizabeth moaned to herself. The last person she wanted to see today was the insufferable woman. "Carly, please, I don't have time for this." Elizabeth turned her back on the blond amazon and tried to concentrate on the files in front of her, silently praying that Carly Corinthos would just turn around and leave. She should have known better.

"You're unbelievable," Carly moved purposely to the other side of the station to force the nurse to look at her. "I cannot believe that after all these years and after all the times he's kicked your sorry butt to the curb that you're still this mesmerized by Jason's dick! How many times does he need to _not_ choose you before you get it, Elizabeth?"

"Carly, please, this is my work - please keep your voice down." Elizabeth's tone was hushed.

"I don't give a damn where we are!" Carly's anger was raw as she yelled at the pathetic woman, garnering the attention of everyone in earshot, including the two other Nurses near the desk and the Orderly helping a patient into a wheelchair near the sitting area. "You are a miserable excuse for a human being who kidnapped an amnesiac Jason and _raped_ him for seven months, right under his wife's nose! You're despicable!" the disgust was animated by the upturn of her lips as she glared at the woman, and it was taking all of her strength not to reach across the desk to pull her over by her hair.

Elizabeth could not contain her shock at the hateful words, "I did not rape Jason! How could you say that to me, of all people? I love him…don't you dare make it sound as if what we share is dirty or wrong."

Nostrils flaring, Carly leaned in closer to the station, "spoken like a true rapist, and you, _of all people_ , should have known better. Had you been a man taking advantage of a woman the way you did Jason, you would've indeed been branded a rapist."

Elizabeth tried to get away from the fuming woman and the gawking stares by walking down the hallway towards the Art Therapy room, but Carly would not let her go so easily, yelling at her retreating back as she followed angrily. "I'll tell you what you share with Jason, Elizabeth. You share a little boy from a one night stand that was borne out of his pain of seeing the love of his life in somebody else's arms, _knowing he pushed her there_. You share his gratitude for you saving his life when he got shot a thousand years ago, and for being his friend when he was Jake Doe with no memory and no idea that he had a lot more than just you…that's _all_ you share you little nitwit." Carly grabbed the nurse by the arm and swung her around to face her, squeezing hard. "Jason is in love with Sam, always was and always will be and you damn well know it, and _that's_ why you didn't tell anyone when you found out who Jake Doe was, isn't it, sweetie? Because you knew that he would never in a million years turn his back on his family for _you_."

Carly wanted to rip her to shreds, tear her limb from limb. Her best friend in this entire, sorry world, the one person who had always had her back through any and everything and had protected her and her family from it all, the friend that they had all mourned and cursed the universe for taking from their lives, had miraculously come back from the dead, had found his way home and been living among them for an entire year, and this miserable excuse for a woman had kept that wonderful, life-changing news to her selfish self. " _You love him_ …well it's too bad _he_ doesn't love _you_. What else do you need him to do to show you where his heart lies? What, huh, get a skywriter, send a singing telegram? Tell me, Elizabeth, how much more clearer did marrying Sam and not you, need to be for you to get it?"

"Carly, you don't know anything about who Jason is now." She rubbed her arm where Carly had gripped her in a vice. "He doesn't want anything to do with you or Sonny or anyone from that life. He wants to be with me and my boys. Why can't you all just leave us alone?"

Carly's mouth fell open in shock as she gaped at the clueless woman, " _WAKE UP ELIZABETH_! Jason wants to be with his family. He's been trying everything to get back with Sam and they would be together right now if you hadn't tried to keep them apart with your pitiful games. But it doesn't matter what you do, does it? They always end up together, no matter what you try to do to them or how many times you try to get in between them. Not when you got pregnant and tried to trap him, not when you lied to him about his wife's fidelity, and certainly not now when he came back from the dead to be with her." Carly shook her head and slapped her clutch against her peacoated leg as she sneered at her, "don't you get it yet? Jason will never want you over his soulmate." She flashed her blond hair jeeringly, "but you know that already, don't you, Elizabeth? That's why you kept quiet! That's why you kept Jason from his wife, from his son, from his entire damn family, including me and my sons, you pathetic little bitch!"

Elizabeth fired back hotly, "oh, please, as if you and everyone else in this town haven't done much, much worse. Get off my back ,Carly, this is none of your business." She tried walking away again, but Carly wasn't done.

"HEY! Don't you dare walk away from me," she shouted as she spun her around again, this time adding a shove to the forceful turn, sending Elizabeth staggering back a couple steps as she was made to face her as Carly continued, "I don't give a damn about everyone else in this town, you made a grave mistake when you chose _my_ best friend to target, when you chose _my_ best friend's family to deceive." She was using her clutch to shove at the woman's chest with gusto.

Elizabeth was getting a little afraid. Not only was she being publicly humiliated in her place of employment, the other medical personnel scattered on the floor pretending not to be listening to every word, but Carly Corinthos was known for her temper and brash behavior, and Elizabeth was still sore from the last ass whopping she got from Jason's main cheerleader. Carly was getting physical and that was going to end only one way. "Carly, please, you've said your piece, just leave me alone and go about your business before you get me fired."

"You should have thought about that before you kidnapped a helpless man so you could lure him into your bed. I don't know what my weak little cousin ever saw in you, but you've been nothing but a plaque upon Jason since the day you met. I warned him a million times not to trust you, but we all know how big Jason's heart is, and he can never walk away from a bruised little creature who needs him. Except, you're no victim, are you honey? No, you lie and manipulate with the best of us, you're the vicious little snake who set your sights on Jason ages ago and will stop at nothing until you get your way. Who cares if he doesn't feel the same way, who cares who you leave in your dust while you chase after a married man?"

"Are you finished? I don't have to justify what Jason and I have to a whore like you who's slept with every man in this town and who's lied, cheated, and conned her way into everything that you have. You and that tramp that Jason was married to have that in common, so I'm not surprised you'd be siding with her. Who the hell are you to talk to me about Jason and our love?"

"Who I am is his best friend and the person who knows his heart a whole of a lot better than you, who knows that you're not the one he wants to spend his life with, you're not the one he can't live without, and you're certainly not the one he's begging to take him back." Carly smiled smugly, "as we speak, Jason is crawling on his hands and knees to Sam begging for another chance, pleading with her to forgive the _colossal_ mistake he made by letting you talk him into marrying you. How does it feel, Elizabeth? To know that the only time you could get Jason to walk down the isle was when he couldn't remember a damn thing about his life? How does it feel to know the only way you ever stood a chance with him was to keep him in seclusion and brainwash him into believing that he loved you…and hell, even then he still left you and has gone chasing after Sam."

"Shut up Carly. Jason will never go back to that whore. He loves me and it's just a matter of time before he remembers that and comes home to our son."

"HAH! Your poor defenseless children are the ones who lose the most at your hands. You set them up to count on a man who you _knew_ was not going to stay. What kind of a mother are you?"

"A hell of a better one than you'll ever be! Don't act like you don't hate me just because I gave Jason a son and you never did share that bond with him."

"Any woman could give Jason a son you stupid bitch, but you and I both know that only one has ever given him everything he needs, including a son, and she's the only mother he's ever wanted for his children. A broken condom and a bottle of tequila is what's tied you to Jason all this time and you fucking know it!"

Elizabeth's hand shot out and connected to Carly's jaw before she remembered to be afraid, but in a split second she was reminded when the blond railed back and fired up the side of her face with a painful blow that sent her falling backwards. As if the cue that she'd been waiting on, the slap seemed to give Carly the opening she needed to grab the nurse by the hair and push her up against the near wall, slapping her again and again with her clutch until Elizabeth's hands came up in defense to cover her head. Carly stopped hitting her then and huffed, "the only reason I don't wipe this floor with your bony ass is because of the kidney that we all thought my daughter got from your son. In gratitude I tried to let old grudges die and coexist in peace with you, but you better steer clear of me Elizabeth, because the next time I'll forget that I ever owed you a fucking thing."

"Leave, Carly, leave right now before I call security."

"That won't be necessary." The voice of Dr. Monica Quartermaine caused both women to look over and find her standing only feet away from their spectacle, her hands shoved into her white labcoat as she eyed them with an unreadable expression on her authoritative face. "Nurse Webber, this is a hospital and if you can't keep your disruptive, intrusive lifestyle outside of these walls and away from my patients, I will be forced to ask you to leave."

"Dr. Quartermaine, I-I was just getting back to my charts." She hurried over to the desk but Monica had more to add.

She stepped up behind the desk and addressed the nurse again, "I had a very interesting conversation with my son a couple days ago. He informed me that my daughter-in-law had been arrested for assaulting you."

Elizabeth couldn't help mumbling to herself, " _I'm_ your daughter-in-law." Then it dawned on her where the conversation was leading. She tried to head her off meekly, "Dr. Q…"

Monica didn't let her finish. "Imagine my surprise when he told me _why_!"

Elizabeth had hoped to have time to plan what to say to Jason's mom when the subject came up but she didn't have anything yet. Carly couldn't resist the opportunity to take another stab at open wounds. "Go ahead, Elizabeth. Explain to Jason's mother how you kept the knowledge that her son was alive to yourself for solely selfless reasons…I'm sure she can't wait."

Monica looked from Carly to the nurse, asking mockingly, "was that it, Elizabeth? You were just being selfless and considerate when you didn't think I needed to know that my son was alive? It was out of the goodness of your icy heart that you kept something so _monumentally_ important, something that would've lifted the grief from my heart and given me time with my only living child? You did this contemptible thing because you were being thoughtful, is that what you were doing?"

Elizabeth was cringing from the doctor's frosty glare, shrinking in her spot at her cutting words. She tried desperately to explain, "Dr. Quartermaine, I know what I did was wrong and I didn't mean to keep it from you, but you have to admit that you didn't want Jason going back into the mob anymore than I did. What I did kept him out of arms way, he was safe and happy with me and my boys and I know you've always wanted that for him." She tried to plead to the softer side of the doctor, "there was a time when you even thought he made a beautiful family with us, remember that? Remember when you wanted us to be a family with our son?"

"Your son? The son that you kept a secret from me and the rest of the Quartermaines until we thought he was dead, that son?" Hearing about Jake seemed to anger the distinguished doc even more. "You got _your_ son back, after years of believing that he had died, you got to experience the magnificent joy and wonderment of getting him back, so how were you able to look at your sweet little boy and deny me my own? How could you, a mother who got the blessing and the unbelievable gift of getting your son back from the dead, who got to experience the sensational feeling and the pure enormity of such a wondrous gift, how were you able to look me, another mother, in the eye everyday, and deny me the same? How do you live with such an unforgivable, reprehensible act and say you did it for love?"

Monica was in tears as she tried to make sense of the nurse's cruel and thoughtless actions. "I thought my son was dead, Elizabeth. I thought I had outlived all of my children, my husband was gone, so many of my entire family were gone! What gave you the right to keep my child as your dirty little secret?" She couldn't stop them so she brushed angrily at her cheek, annoyed that the tears kept coming. "My son loved and respected you as a friend for so many years, as did I, as did my family. For God's sakes, Elizabeth, you were his baby sister's very best friend! My Emily trusted you, loved you like a sister…how could you use her brother in such a deplorable fashion?"

Elizabeth couldn't believe how badly everything had gotten screwed up. "Please, Dr. Quartermaine, I didn't mean for this to happen this way, I just wanted Jason and I to finally have our time. He was free and clear and he had no ties to Sonny anymore, remember Sonny - you hate him for what he's done to Jason. I kept him away from all of that and he was happy with me. We were finally happy."

Carly had kept quiet up to that point, respectfully giving Monica her say to the vile woman. "You really are crazier than a loon…do you _hear_ yourself?"

Monica took a deep breath before she addressed Elizabeth again. "Nurse Webber, if it was up to me I would toss you out on your head right this second, but as Chief of Staff at this hospital it is my duty to keep it free from frivolous lawsuits and liabilities, but you can bet your ass that you will feel my presence within these walls. There are so many bedpans in your near future that you'll soon want to drown yourself in one of them."

Carly's scoff was loud and pronounced. "Couldn't happen to a more deserving gal."

Monica continued, "In addition, I have reason to be concerned with your sanity right now, so you will immediately report to Dr. Collins for an evaluation to determine your competence to treat the patients in this hospital. Consider yourself suspended and relieved of your duties until such time that he validates your competence and clears you for active duty."

"What? You can't do that - I have a family to care for."

"I can and I just did." Monica's voice said there was no room for arguing or disobedience. "Your family is one of the reasons that this should be a priority. You should really concern yourself with giving those boys a healthy, sane mother, and right now, I can assure you that's not what they're getting. Now, Jake is my grandson, and your other boys didn't do anything to deserve this hell you've brought to their lives, so whatever they need while you're cleaning up your mess of a life, I will take care of." With that Monica turned and left the floor, nodding to Carly as she passed.

Carly didn't feel an ounce of pity for the man-thief. "Serves you right you pitiful excuse for a woman. I'd say you got off pretty damn easy, if I was Monica, I'd kick your ass, _then_ I'd sure as hell fire you!"

Elizabeth refused to get drawn into another brawl with Carly, this day was turning out so very badly. It was as though she'd been living in a nightmare lately, where absolutely nothing was going right and she couldn't stop it, she couldn't stop any of it. She made her way to Kevin Collins' office to schedule her appointment with his assistant, not wanting to give Monica any ammunition to fire her as she needed her job. Maybe a few days off would do her good, at least she could get away from the knowing stares and the rumor mill that was circulating the hospital. She needed to regroup and talking to Dr. Collins might help her do it. As she turned the corner she saw Jason disappear into the inner office with Dr. Collins and not only was she surprised to see him at the hospital, but she was flabbergasted to find him going into a shrink's office. Jason Morgan would never talk to a therapist, what was going on? She approached the receptionist and desperately wanted to ask, but she had to be nonchalant about it.

"Hi Dawn. Can you tell me what openings Dr. Collins has for this week?"

"Sure, Elizabeth," the receptionist turned to her screen to view the doctor's schedule. "You have somebody you need to put down to see the doc?"

Elizabeth got a little red but she knew that the rumor was circulating by now as Monica was not the least bit discreet with her earlier announcement. "No, it's for me. I need to see him about something important." At least she could act professional, Elizabeth thought, as she eyed the receptionist who only nodded her head and continued to give her the opening slot for the next day. After booking herself for eleven the next morning, she struck up a conversation about the woman's children getting so big, pointing harmlessly to the photo on her desk. Five minutes of ensuing chitchat and she'd found her opening, "so, I just saw Jason go in with Kevin, I thought he said his appointment was later?" How would the woman know her husband wasn't confiding in her?

"No, Mr. Morgan has a standing appointment at the same time twice per week, it hasn't changed."

Twice per week? How long had this been going on? Why was Jason seeing a therapist and she knew nothing about it?

Just then, the receptionist from OB came over to them and after eyeing Elizabeth with pity she addressed the other woman, "Dawn, you ready?"

"Not yet, Cindy. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes."

"Oh, come on, how often do we get to see a flash proposal up close and personal? It starts in exactly three minutes!"

It was clear they were both very excited about the upcoming show. Dawn quickly explained to Elizabeth that their friend and coworker was getting proposed to and her future fiancee had asked them to gather down in the loading dock for the surprise. She really didn't want to miss it.

Elizabeth had never missed an opening in her life. "It's a big day for your friend, you have to be there. Go, I'll cover the desk for a few minutes for you, I'd be happy to." She put on her sweet, angelic smile that had never failed to get her what she wanted, not until lately anyway. When the receptionist hesitated she continued to prod her, "you'll hate yourself if you miss it, and it'll only be a few minutes. I think I can manage the phones for a few minutes."

Dawn was convinced. "Okay, thank you, Elizabeth, it's really nice of you."

Elizabeth fanned her off, shooing them towards the exit, "don't mention it. You'd do it for me, Dawn - it's really no big deal." She watched them leave before she looked over towards the door that Jason had disappeared into, then sat at the desk and reached for the intercom to the inner office. Who would it hurt if she listened for a little while?

"…so these memories, have they been coming a lot at once, or only sporadically?" Dr. Collins was asking.

Jason's answer was surprising, "at first they were only vague images that didn't last but a couple seconds, but lately they've been lasting a lot longer and are a lot more frequent. They hit out of nowhere and now they're accompanied by the most intense feelings I've ever had in my life. They're even manifesting in my dreams, most of the time I'd forget the dream as soon as I woke up, but not lately. Everything is so vivid now, it's like I'm transported right back into the middle of it happening."

Elizabeth was surprised - Jason was remembering everything? Then he was talking again.

"Most of them are about my wife and the way I feel about her in these dreams and these memories, I can't believe I ever forgot her. She was the most important person in my life and I can't believe I made such a huge mistake by leaving her. I just want to fix this, but I don't know how."

Elizabeth couldn't contain the smile that broke out on her face and in her heart. Jason was remembering her, he was dreaming about her and he wanted her back! Oh, this horrible day was looking up, finally.

"Well, the first thing you need to do is forgive yourself - you are in no way to blame for losing your memory, and I'm sure she feels the same way. I don't believe for one second that she would blame that on you. Secondly, you have to give her time to come to the same conclusions as you, that you want your marriage back. You can't rush her, as hard as it's going to be, you owe her the courtesy of working through her own emotions and making her own choices. Be patient, it will happen."

Jason didn't need to wait for anything, Elizabeth thought. She had already forgiven him and was ready to have their life back. All he had to do was come home.

"I know. I just love her so much, I don't ever want to lose her. We wasted so much time already, time that we should be spending getting to know each other again, raising our son. I hurt her, and I'm just worried that she'll move on without me. I mean, I couldn't blame her if she did, but I feel like I would die without her."

Elizabeth covered her heart with her hand, oh wow, Jason truly loved her completely.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Elizabeth was so startled by the receptionist coming back that she fumbled clumsily, hastily trying to disconnect the intercom, knocking over the photos next to it.

"I, huh, I was just…" she tried to place the photos back in their upright position, at the same time rising from the chair and looking from Dawn back over to what she was doing. Shit, she broke a frame! "I was just making sure Dr. Collins wasn't about to come out here to find that you'd left. I wasn't really listening to anything."

Dawn's look said bitch, please! She moved around the desk forcing Elizabeth to exit awkwardly. "Elizabeth, you know you cannot listen in on a private session, you damn well know better than that, and the only reason I won't report this is because I need my job. I can't afford to play with people's lives like some people we know."

Elizabeth wasn't so much as shamefaced. "I see the rumor mill is in full force again. Well, you're right, Dawn, keeping your mouth shut might just be better for you." She turned and stormed away from the area, leaving in a haughty huff, not giving a rat's ass what Dawn or anybody else thought in that moment. What she had just heard in that session made her day, damn it made her year. Finally, she was about to get her life back and everybody and everything else could just kiss her ass.

She walked back onto her floor, practically sailing on cloud nine. "Elizabeth Webber?" A messenger wanted to know. "Yes?" He held out a notepad for her signature, then after she signed, handed her a large manilla envelop, nodded her way and left. Elizabeth frowned as she opened it to see its contents. Who would be sending her a package?

Her heart fell to the floor when she saw that it was from Diane Miller's office. She took out the crisp sheets of paper gingerly, praying somehow for good news, only to turn ghost white when she saw the word "Annulled." She dropped the papers to the desk, devastated and confused. Jason had had their marriage annulled? Why would he do this? He was still in love with her, he wanted their marriage…she'd just heard him say so himself! But as she replayed the overheard conversation in her mind she thought back to the night he had outed her, the cruel way in which he had tricked her into thinking he was going to make love, saying things like how she was everything he ever wanted, things that had turned out to be obvious lies to disarm her, and she came to the earth shattering realization that she had been horribly, horribly mistaken. She was not the "wife" in question at all!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Jason stood at the water's edge on pier 52, hands shoved into the pocket of his jeans, looking out into the dark waves, contemplating his next move. He had just left a therapy session at the hospital and although it had been hard at first for him to start going, he had to admit that Dr. Collins had been helping him with the struggles he faced and things were becoming more and more clear for him. At first, he had resisted the idea of a therapist being able to do anything except confuse the situation more, but after two weeks of going, he realized that it helped to talk about the things he'd been remembering and dreaming about, and Dr. Collins was able to provide a keen insight that was fresh and removed from the chaos in his life, while helping him to reach the memories locked deep within his jumbled mind. He had started going when Sam and Danny left on their adventure when he'd found himself missing them more each passing day. As he'd struggled to reconcile his growing feelings for Sam with the commitment he was about to make to Elizabeth, he'd decided that he needed help to make sense of the scattered emotions. So he had gone to an initial appointment where he'd ended up spending the entire hour just sitting there, wondering why he'd thought it was a good idea to begin with. It wasn't until recent developments had convinced him to do everything in his power to get Sam back that he started going twice per week. He was determined to do everything he possibly could to show Sam that she and Danny were all he wanted and he would stop at nothing to win them back. Even without his memories he knew that Jason Morgan didn't believe in therapy, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He needed to get his wife to give their marriage another chance, and so far she had been stubbornly opposed to the idea, adamantly rebuffing his invitations to spend any time together that did not involve their son. But Jason wasn't about to give up. He would go to the extreme to show her how serious he was, even seek therapy. He needed her and he was finding out with each passing day just how much he'd always needed her.

"Annulment, Jason? You had our marriage annulled, as if it never happened?"

He'd heard the footfalls on the steps of the dock behind him and somehow, he knew it would be her. He could just tell by the tiny hairs on the back of his neck that seemed to stand on end whenever she was near as of late, and his annoyance at the intrusion to his reflections was evident. Without turning around he replied, "it should never have happened in the first place. I knew while I was doing it that I was making a mistake, but I had stopped listening to my heart and somehow gotten stuck in my head, giving in to you."

When he wouldn't turn around to further acknowledge her presence she stepped up alongside him at the edge of the water, but he still didn't look at her, just kept staring into the depths before him. "You don't mean that. Tell me you know we belong together, tell me you believe that too, Jason. You love me, I know you love me!"

At first she could tell that he heard her only because of how close she was standing next to him, but as she looked into his face she saw that he seemed to be far, far away at the same time. Finally, after what seemed like minutes of silence he spoke again, "do you know where we are?" He turned his head to look at her then and nodded his head towards the water. "This is where my life changed. This is the pier where I came that night, the night that I left my family alone, to go answer a call about _business_. This is where _everything_ changed for me." He turned his head back towards the water, the forlorn, empty look still haunting his face. "This is where my wife dove for hours, trying to find me."

He stopped talking, again lost in his thoughts. Elizabeth needed to get his focus onto her. "You would have had a completely different life with us, Jason. If you had only made a different choice instead of leaving us, you would've never been out here that night, so none of this would've hap…"

He continued as if she hadn't spoken, "…I can almost see her in the frigid dark water, refusing to give up searching, refusing to give me up as lost."

He turned so he was fully facing her as he softly asked, "what did you do, Elizabeth? Did you search for me too? That night, when you heard what happened to me, what did you do…did you dive into the cold, dark waters looking for me, the supposed love of your life? Sam did. Sonny did. Gosh, even Spinelli did…but did you?" He didn't really expect an answer so when she only shook her head as though confused by his question he just continued, "you like to insult and talk down to Sam, talk bad about her, talk about old, outdated transgressions that she's more than made up for, but Elizabeth, you don't know the first thing about Sam's heart."

He watched her growing discomfort and saw that she was about to say something nasty, but he wasn't done. "I remember so much about her now. I remember everything that happened with the kidnapping, I remember how scared you were when you were threatened, and I remember how livid I was with Sam for setting that up. I was so disappointed in her because I _knew_ her, I knew that if she had been thinking straight that Sam would never in a million years put my son, or anybody else's in danger. _Never_ …not consciously, but she had been devastated and destroyed by what I did to her, what I allowed you to do to her."

He cocked his head to the side a little as he studied her face closely. "I also remember how much she apologized for everything, over and over, how compassionate she was towards you when you stumbled, how many times she put her life in danger to save Jake, to save me." He was nodding, watching the recollection crossing her face. "I remember her walking into a den of armed Russians to save our little boy, and jumping from a burning building just before it exploded, Jake safely wrapped in her arms." He shook his head, looking at her sadly, "you weren't there, Elizabeth, just like so many other times that Sam put herself and her life on the line for me, you weren't there, so you _don't_ know. You talk about her as if she took something from you, you've even said that Jake's life would be different if it wasn't for Sam, but the truth is Elizabeth, _I_ would be different if it wasn't for Sam. Everytime I try to live without her I end up making a mess of my life and I have a habit of getting involved with you each time that happens. I _know_ that you would have talked me out of going to help Bernie, but what you don't get is that I would've resented you for it. When Bernie died I would've hated you for guilting me out of going to help a friend who needed me, and that's only one of many things you've never understood about me. You don't get me…but Sam does. She always has."

He took a step closer to her, looking her dead in the eye, "I can't live without her, and I'm really not trying to hurt you right now, but I've proven that I _can_ live without _you_. I've been happier with Sam than I've been with anybody in my life, and she's the only thing that always makes sense to me."

Elizabeth was speechless the whole time. She couldn't find the words, couldn't understand what was happening. Jason bent his shoulders so that he was eye level with her, wanting to make sure that she understood once and for all. He spoke slowly and softly still, trying to be as clear as he could possibly be. "You and I don't work, and if you insist on trying to put us back together you will only end up hurting yourself, again. We _do not_ belong together, and if you've never heard me when I said this before, please hear me now…I want my wife back, and I will run over you and anyone else who stand in my way of making that happen."

He stared at her for a long moment, having effectively silenced her signature whining, then walked past her up the stairs, to his SUV and out of her clutches.

Over at Kelly's Sam grabbed a cup of her favorite brew and pulled up a chair outside to enjoy the unusually warm day for the middle of winter. The sun was out and although there was a limit to its warmth, there was no limit to the bright array that it cast on the small town. Several people went in and out, obviously taking advantage of the beautiful clear day, much like herself, and as she fired up her laptop to go over her case notes, the smiling face of the tiny love of her life popped up, bringing the usual smile to hers, in response. Sam stroked the little screened cheek and took a deep breath, using the moment to relax and give thanks for all that she had in her life. She thought about the events of the preceding weeks and the turbulence they had unleashed, and she felt as though she had proverbially "found herself" again during that time. She thought of the bouts of anger that at times had threatened to consume her, filling her with the kind of murderous rage that had her wanting to beat people up and watch them bleed, mainly Elizabeth and Jason, and she savored the calm she was once again feeling in her soul.

Not only had she moved past the destructive anger that had eaten her up for weeks on end, but she had moved past Jason and Elizabeth. He was the romantic love of her life, always was and probably always would be, but her life had grown to be so much more than just Jason Morgan. Her son, the delightful little devil whom she hung the moon and the stars on was her entire world. The joy that she got from being Danny's mother was unmatched by anything else she'd ever experienced and she lived for his smiles, his contagious and infectious laughter, and his golden hugs that healed every wound she'd ever suffered. She learned the power of her son's hugs and kisses the minute his daddy had gone missing, and when nothing else was able to calm or soothe her devastating grief, Danny had been her only light. He was the very best thing she'd ever done with her life. Sam smiled wider at the still picture of his smiling face and sent a mental hug to her baby in that instant.

Finding out that Alexis was her mother had brought more family to her life, something she had spent many years without, something she had thought she'd never have again after her brother died and during that very dark period after she'd lost Jason to Elizabeth and his first son. Her world had gone dark, so dark that she'd unwittingly colored her soul to match, sinking down to a place so low that she had been lost to her very self. Her mother and sisters' love was what helped her out of that dismal position and gave her a reason to hope and dream and to live again. They had been her Godsend ever since, holding her up through every struggle, every stumble, every hurt, and celebrating her every feat. She was no longer alone, and even before she'd been blessed with her darling little boy, she'd stopped feeling alone…she had family.

Sam read through the first four pages of the case file and her thoughts drifted again to the blessings she had, one of them being her mode of living that filled her days, and some nights, with adventure and brain teasers, affording her the chance to do something that she loved, something she was extremely good at. Being her own boss had always been her way, even when she was running cons, she answered to herself, and she'd never been good at punching a clock and following instructions…brief stints in other careers where she'd tried and failed had taught her that much. Being her own Captain at sea, and now one-half of the best PI firm in town, was what she was most good at. Yes…her life was full and filled with good things, good people, and she'd made herself stop and remember each one, faring all the better for it. Thanks to that inner reflection she was calm now, she was cool, and she was certain that her blood pressure had ebbed in the last week. Not much would be able to wrangle her today.

Sam had been approached by Hayden Barnes to dig into the shooting that had left her in a brief coma a few months earlier. According to Hayden she had reason to believe that she had been the intended target of the shooting, and not Jake Doe as was originally thought, and although she would never be friends with Hayden after how she'd tried to use Jason at Ric Lansing's behest and checkbook, Sam was a professional. She was also invested in finding the second shooter if there was one, as her friend Sean had been imprisoned for the crime. If there was some chance that he was not to blame for Hayden's close brush with death, then she would find out, she simply had to. The firm's client roster had dwindled a bit over the years, what with Spinelli moving away to Portland and Sam engrossed in motherhood and life, but every so often she dusted off the old skills and fired up the deductive engines for a good cause. What they had uncovered so far, had certainly started to make Hayden's assumptions look more concrete.

With long distance cyber assistance from the one and only Jackal, Sam had uncovered that not only was Hayden the likely target of the shooting but that her seemingly respectable, gentlemanly, debonair cousin, Prince Nicholas Cassadine, heir to the fortune and Lord of Windermere, was the prime suspect. After the initial shock of uncovering her cousin's role in attempted murder, Sam reminded herself that this was the same cousin who had kept her husband's identity secret from all but one other…his longtime bed buddy and closest conspirator, the saintly, angelic debutant, Nurse Webber. Together they had plotted and lied to everyone's face for months, and Sam's loving cousin had practically gift-wrapped her husband and child's father in a bow and handed him over to his very dear friend, and his excuse when he was found out? He was doing Sam and Danny a favor because of how undeserving and dangerous Jason was. He was no good for his wife and child, but apparently he was good enough for the nurse and her brood. He was so far removed from the cousin who had been her friend and loyal supporter that he wasn't even recognizable anymore. The change was so drastic, so sudden that none of them had seen how far he'd fallen until there was no going back. Sam sighed thinking about them and the way they tried to rationalize their wickedness, when suddenly her eye latched onto something in her notes. She reread the discovery portion and watched the lightbulbs go off one by one.

Elizabeth hated Hayden, probably because she was sleeping with Nicholas, and everybody knows that once Elizabeth Webber tasted a man in Port Charles he was hers for life. No other woman better dare venture near him whether she wanted him or not, lest they fall prey to the wrath of the angelic one. She owned every man she'd ever slept with and that's why she thought laying claim to Sam's husband was her given right. Sam remembered Elizabeth's blatant distaste for Hayden, and recalled that despite her obvious and pronounced hatred, she had practically set up vigil at her bedside, constantly prodding Patrick for updates on the woman's condition. She was one of the first persons to see Hayden when she awoke from her coma, even though she wasn't even on duty at the time. She'd explained it as common empathy for Hayden's condition and the worshippers at the temple of Elizabeth hadn't even dreamed of questioning her motives. Too bad for her, Samantha Morgan was no worshipper. Retreating into her memories, Sam could now recall how nervous and fidgety Elizabeth had been around Hayden, how white she got when the subject of her waking came up. Maybe it hadn't been just about Hayden knowing who Jason was and was ready to tell him. Maybe there had been even more to the story. Of course, she thought, it could all be coincidence and Sam was just projecting her feelings of distrust and disgust for the creature, but it was certainly worth pursuing. Time to set out the rat traps. Sam edited her notes, mumbling to herself, "look out bitch, I'm coming for you."


	10. Chapter 10

_I want to take a second to shout out everyone reading my story. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Sam was created as a multi-faceted, fierce, kickass individual and it saddens me to see how much they've watered her down to suit pairings with doctors and to set up useless plot points, but she will forever be my girl. She loves her Jason and he loves her right back and they're my favorite Soap couple of all time…and now their love has blossomed into two perfect little ones to make them a foursome. Kudos to GH for creating Sam and Jason and giving them the best love story ever told._

 _Thank you for reading and reviewing, you make me laugh and I love to laugh. Thank you also to the reviewer who gave the nurse my favorite new nickname, "Nurse Nutcase." LOL - I fucking love it! I've seen a couple reviews from fans of the "other" pairing that I choose to ignore because I don't know why they're even paying attention to my story in the first place. This story is clearly labeled so NOT for them. Why they even bother is beyond me, but thank you to the reviewer who answered one of them - that was hilarious! Anyway, let's get on to the Sam Morgan that we love and that they love to hate. Elizabeth is going down! JaSam all the way baby, all day everyday!_

 **Chapter 10**

Jason wanted to see his family. He'd seen Danny every day and spent time getting to know his growing son, but his wife had been making herself very scarce whenever he came around. He reached for his phone and called the penthouse and when there was no answer, he decided to stop by McCall and Jackal to catch Sam without warning. She would just avoid him if he called first so he decided to risk a driveby.

Her SUV wasn't parked out front so Jason knew she wasn't there either. So much for driveby. Taking a deep breath, Jason considered that he needed to call in reinforcements. He was going to need help and as much of a headache as he knew she was going to be, he had to be man enough to tag her in. Pulling the cell from his pocket he dialed apprehensively, telling himself this was just something else he had to do to get to Sam.

She picked up almost instantly. "Jason Morgan, calling my number? Well, this is something that hasn't happened in ages."

Already he had a headache. "Hello, Maxi." He toyed with asking how she was but decided against it when he remembered that she would actually tell him. He cleared his throat loudly and dove right in. "Ahem. I, huh, need your help."

"Mmm…this sounds familiar…we've been here a time or two haven't we Jason? What do you need my help with - oh, wait, let me guess, you need to impress the Goddess Samantha!"

In that moment Jason wished that not all of his memories were returning as he could do without a few surrounding conversations with Maxie Jones. She was a very good person and Sam loved her like a sister, but the woman talked a mile a minute and had always made it her duty to scold Jason about something or other regarding Sam or Spinelli. He was always not doing something enough, or he was doing something too much, not paying enough attention to Sam, overworking Spinelli…he had never known anyone who talked as much and said as little as Maxie, but she was Sam's best friend and she had come through for them quite a bit in the past.

"Yes, Maxie, I need some help with Sam." He was almost shame-faced to admit it, but Sam often left him off his game, and he didn't have much of it to begin with. She was never the type to be wooed with flowers and candy or the pretty poetry that Molly used to give him to read to her. His Sam had never been like other pink and lace girls, especially when she was mad. No, the way to Sam's heart was to leave her free to be her individual badass self, show her the respect of knowing she didn't need to be coddled and taken care of, but show her you had her back if she needed it, and she would begin to melt without even realizing that it was happening. He would do all of that, but it was not to say he wasn't about to back it up with some visual aides that she deserved…he was going to do it all.

"Okay, what did you do? Forget her birthday? No, that's not here yet. Your anniversary? No, you divorced the love of your life and married the town mattress. Oh, I know, I know - you said something stupid, something you shouldn't have said at all or you didn't say something you were supposed to say and it took you till the ninth of forever to realize it and now Sam's not talking to you and you need to break out the big guns because you're a big selfish log and Sam is the only woman in the world who gets you and you finally realize that you're being stupid and you want to do something about it before you end up miserable and alone for the rest of your life or worse, have to go running back to the tramp on wheels - oh, my God, Jason, yes, I'll help you. Sam would never forgive me if I didn't save you from the tarantula!"

Jason squeezed his eye shut from the sudden splitting headache and counted to ten while Maxie rambled, reminding himself earnestly why he was doing this. "Thank you, Maxie. Now, here's what I need."

Sam had just hung up with Spinelli, putting the final touches on their plan for the dark prince and fallen angel, when a shadow suddenly fell over her table outside of Kelly's. She looked up to see none other than Elizabeth Webber, glaring down at her, her nose turned up in the air as though she was looking at something foul. Pity the bitch's face couldn't freeze like that. Sam shuddered dramatically and said, "oooh, got icy all of a sudden, as if the walking dead just showed up" then addressing the nurse, "you mind getting lost - you're blocking my sun!"

"Are you happy now? You've finally succeeded in taking Jakey's daddy away from him, I hope you're happy with yourself. Didn't take you long to bed my husband again, did it, Sam?"

Sam leant all the way back in her chair to study the crazy bitch talking at her, gripping the arms tightly, not trusting herself to not leap at the throat uttering the nasty words. She just listened as the nurse kept spewing.

"Jason and I were finally happy, it was our time to be together and raise our son, but you couldn't stand that could you Sam? You had to interfere and break up our happy home, you homewrecker!"

Sam couldn't help it, she had to answer that one. "Happy home? Which home were you living in, because Jason couldn't wait to run screaming away from it and from you? Did you forget to take your medication today again, Nurse Nutcase?"

"What makes you so much better than me, Sam? What makes anything I've done to protect the man I love and our family's happiness, any worse than any of the million rotten things you've done in your miserable life?"

Sam stood up to face her, the calm and cool she was feeling from earlier fast disappearing again. "Stop talking about love like you even know the meaning of the word. You don't love, Elizabeth, you possess, you control and manipulate. Jason didn't leave you because of me or anybody else but you. He left because he found out you only _pretend_ to be a decent person, you have no idea how to actually be one. I may have done things in my past that I wish I could take back, but I learned from them and grew the fuck up, why don't you try it sometime?"

"You purposely set out to destroy my marriage! We were happy and in love until you started picking at him about remembering you, remembering his past…what was so good about his past, huh? I'm good for Jason. With me he could be a better man and you can't stand it."

Sam narrowed her eyes and pointed at the nurse as she emphasized her next point. "See, right there, right there is what was wrong with you and Jason from the start. What's wrong with the man that he was to begin with, the man that he is right now? Jason is kind, and gentle, and forgiving, he's strong and protective, and nurturing. He's selfless and caring and he's a wonderful father. Why was that never enough for you? Why was _he_ never enough for you?"

"Jason is all of those things and he has the potential to be so much more, and I bring that out in him, but you just cannot leave us alone. Why did you ever have to darken Port Charles with your presence? Everybody would be much better off without you around."

Sam moved around the table to get to her. "Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?"

The nurse knew better than that. She wanted to stand her ground but found that her feet had taken a couple involuntary steps backward. "I just want you to leave us alone. Why can't you do that?"

Sam opened her arms in gesture. "First of all, if I chose to kick your ass on sight everyday you would deserve it for what you did to my son, but I've moved on from your sorry life and am quite contented with my own. That's something else you should try - spend some time with yourself and see just how less loony and needy you'll be. Second, if you're not happily married to the man that you sold your soul to steal it hasn't a damn thing to do with me. You are way too insignificant for me to waste time on Elizabeth, and I'm done arguing with you over Jason. If you're having trouble holding onto what you stole after going through all the trouble, then you're just not woman enough - that's not on me."

Sam could stand there and stab the woman with jabs all night, but she had more important daggers to throw. "What I'm interested in knowing is have you thought about who will take care of your boys when you get carted off to prison for accessory to attempted murder?"

Sam watched keenly as her face went from confusion at the question to understanding of the proclamation. If there was a shade paler than white, Elizabeth would've turned it, and in that instant Sam had the answer to her question. She was as guilty as sin and she had better start worrying.

"What? That's absurd - what the hell are you talking about?"

Sam smiled coyly at her, packing up her laptop and getting ready to bounce. "Oh, Saint Elizabeth, tut-tut-tut-tut-tut. When you cover up a crime, that makes you an accessory to said crime…surely an upstanding, pure, law abiding citizen such as yourself knows this?" Her doe eyes got so big and panicked that Sam had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she went to walk past her. "Oh, what webs we weave, when others we try to deceive, tut-tut-tut-tut-tut."

She did laugh that time - the stupid look on her face was too precious not to. Step one, the mouse has been fed the bait…step two, get ready to spring the trap.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam checked her watch and smiled to herself knowingly, watching the prey step off the launch at the Windermere pier. From her vantage point near the tunnels, she could almost make out the frantic look on the nurse's face, the look that had taken up residence as soon as Sam had mentioned Hayden's shooting. Just as suspected, the nurse had wasted no time getting on the next launch to the island, something Sam and Hayden knew she would do the minute Sam laid the bait for her. Sam had left her standing outside Kelly's and gone straight to the hired speedboat that she used to drive herself to the island, knowing she had only a matter of minutes to get in place before the nurse would show up. Now that the bait had been bitten, it was time to activate the trap that had been set the night before.

Given that Hayden was still staying at the castle, it had been easy for her to plant the bugs in Nicholas' study, his bedroom, and the library. Sam didn't think one was needed in the bedroom but had to agree when Hayden pointed out that given the company they were expecting, the room should definitely be at the top of the list. She'd also had time to plant the tiny motion censored cameras in the study and the library, the feed from which was accessible on their phones and laptops.

Sam entered the castle by way of the deserted tunnel running in back, joining Hayden where they had decided to take up position in a room adjacent to the study. The camera feed had shown Nicholas sitting behind the vintage oak desk engrossed in what appeared to be legal documents of some kind. Knowing that she had no time to spare, Sam quickly set up the long range microphone and engaged the recording device on her laptop before getting comfortable to watch the upcoming premier. Thanks to her tech genius brother-friend Spinelli, who was in both their ears via earplugs, they had the latest in high tech devices for this mission, so Sam knew the two scheming toads didn't stand a chance. It wasn't long before their gamble paid off in a big way.

The nurse didn't even try to mask her alarmed state as she torpedoed in through the front door, immediately sounding out Nicholas' name as the library camera picked her up peering first in that room before she closed in hurriedly on the study. "Nicholas! Nicholas! Where the hell are you?"

The dark prince rose from his chair, appearing surprised by the urgency of the summons, eyeing his friend concernedly as she tore through the doorway. "Elizabeth, what is it, what's wrong?"

She closed the gap in mere seconds, grabbing the prince by the forearms as she pleaded, "Who have you been talking to? Who did you tell?"

He seemed puzzled by her questions. "Who did I tell what? Elizabeth, please, calm yourself." He laid his arms out on hers and guided her towards the sofa. "Here, please sit down and tell me what's wrong."

"She knows, Nicholas, she knows…how? Did you tell her? Why would you tell her anything?"

Nicholas looked worried for her as she clearly wasn't making any sense. He moved to the wet bar and poured a glass of water, taking it back to her and helping to raise it to her lips. "Elizabeth, you have to calm down, here, drink this," he prodded, grabbing her hand to help her grasp the glass and lift it so she could drink.

Sam and Hayden watched as the nurse took a long gulp and Sam couldn't help rotating her fingers in the air as though silently prompting her to get on with it. She checked the recording device again to make sure it was running, before turning back to the camera feed, marveling at the clarity from the tiny device. She loved playing with the new toys Spinelli always seemed to come up with, many of which he either built himself or added his own signature touches to improve performance. Spinelli was a genius.

Sam watched as Nicholas attempted once more to get the woman to tell him what had her in such a state. "Okay, take another breath and tell me what's going on?"

Elizabeth followed instructions, inhaled deeply then said, "Sam…what did you tell Sam about Hayden's shooting?" Sam's back immediately went up and she shared a knowing look with her accomplice, both looking back to the feed with renewed interest.

Furrowing his brows, the prince asked, "Sam? Why would I talk to Sam about that?" He started to look uneasy then. "Okay, maybe you better start from the beginning. What's got you so spooked?"

Sam listened keenly as the nurse went on to relay their earlier conversation, ending with her parting words. "Nicholas, she practically threatened me with jail!" She jumped up from the sofa, wringing her hands together as she started crying to him, "I can't go to jail. My boys need me, I can't go to jail for this!"

Sam and Hayden smirked at each other, knowing the nurse was on the verge of giving them everything they needed. The prince, who looked a lot more calm, seemed to be losing his patience with the woman's dramatics.

"Nobody's going to jail, Elizabeth, you didn't do anything."

"That's not what Sam said! She said I'm an accomplice because I knew and kept quiet? Is she right? Can they really lock me up for not saying anything?" Her eyes grew large in her head as she appeared to contemplate that outcome. "I can't go to jail, Nicholas!"

The prince took a deep breath and tried again to calm the woman. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Sam was blowing smoke trying to rattle you. She knows less than nothing, I assure you."

Sam and Hayden started slowly losing faith. Neither one of the culprits had outright admitted to the crime, instead they were merely talking around the subject. Sam would not let the plan fall to the side. Obviously the woman needed to be prodded some more. Quickly breaking out her cell phone she sent a text to the nurse, knowing that it would give her the final push. ' _You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself. How do you look in orange_?'

As they watched, the nurse's phone beeped with Sam's message and the minute she lifted it from her scrubs her panic amplified in earnest. She poked the phone out to Nicholas. "See, look at this!"

The prince took the phone then handed it back to her after reading the brief message. He scoffed as he replied, "Sam is toying with you, Elizabeth, don't let her."

Her head was shaking from side to side as she started making circles around him. "No, no, she knows something. I know how that bitch operates and she's taunting me because she has something on us." She whirled around to face him. "I still can't believe you tried to have her killed. Why, Nicholas, why did you have to go that far? And then to have messed it up this way? We'll never be able to get rid of the greedy little tramp and now they're going to use this to separate me from my boys."

Hayden looked over at Sam and shook her head admiringly. "Remind me never to get on your bad side again…I mean, all is forgiven now, right…you don't still hold the whole Jake Doe thing against me, do you?"

Sam shushed her as she tried to listen, "Shh…she's about to crack, I can feel it," she whispered, one hand pressing on her earpiece, the other one pointing the microphone towards the study, "come on, Elizabeth, come to mama."

Elizabeth was circling him again. "How did I let you get me into this? Nothing has gone the way it was supposed to. Jason left me, Monica suspended me, everybody hates me, and now I could go to jail and leave my boys without a mother!" She stopped moving and placed her left hand akimbo, while resting the other hand on her forehead as though checking her temperature. She started to cry and it obviously bothered the prince. He gathered her in his arms, rubbing one hand along her back to soothe her.

"Elizabeth, I would never let this touch you. You had nothing to do with it, so Sam is just bluffing." She cried for a minute before she pulled back from his chest and looked in his eyes, shaking her head again.

"You didn't see her Nicholas, she knows. She knows that you tried to have Hayden killed and that I knew about it. She knows." Her eyes searched his eagerly for answers.

Hearing the admission Hayden jumped up from where she was sitting on the chair and started towards the door, but Sam, having anticipated that move as soon as she heard the nurse's declaration, was quick to remind her they needed more.

"Hey, easy there, Princess! We may have her, but we don't have him, not yet." She pushed Hayden back towards her seat adding, "we're almost home."

Elizabeth was jabbering again. "I bet you Hayden put her up to this? She's determined to ruin my life and now she has help."

The prince didn't sound too concerned. "Neither one of them are smart enough to figure any of it out, and if by some fluke they do, they'll never be able to prove anything." He looked her in the eye in the attempt to drive his point home. "Relax, if they do anything to hurt you, my guy will not miss again. He botched her shooting the first time, he knows better than to fail a Cassadine twice."

Sam smiled and looked over to Hayden. "Got 'em!" But Hayden was halfway across the room. Sam put down the microphone and followed quickly, catching up as she entered the study. Elizabeth was still playing violins in the prince's arms.

"It's just so unfair. Everyone in this town take and take what they want and nothing happens, but the minute I try to take something that I want, all hell breaks loose? How is that fair?"

" _LIFE_ isn't fair, didn't anyone ever teach you that, you complacent nimrod?" Hayden was ablaze. She stopped in front of the prince who had released Elizabeth when he heard they were no longer alone. "You pompous son of a bitch, you tried to have me killed!"

Sam peered from her cocky cousin to the nurse who looked like she was about to pass out, and added, "really, Prince Nicholas? Murder? You make Helena proud, I'm sure."

He acted cool. "Sam, to what do we owe your unwelcome intrusion in my home?" Sam opened her mouth to respond when she heard the resounding slap as Hayden connected her hand to the prince's cheek. To his credit, his manners were steadfast, merely grinning with his mouth open as he lifted his hand to soothe the spot. "Was that really necessary?" he drawled.

"How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are playing with my life?"

He didn't miss a beat, purposely ignoring her outburst as he dressed them down, "ladies, and I do use the term quite loosely, please state your business then leave."

"You can stay arrogant all you want, cousin, I'm sure that, and your good manners, will serve you very well behind bars."

He laughed openly at her statement. "So, you think you'll be able to shake me the way you have Elizabeth? Really, _cousin_ , I expected better from you. I don't know why, but I really did."

"Oh, don't worry, I _have_ better, but since Hayden is the one you tried to murder, I'll let her do the honors."

Hayden picked up where Sam left off, "you needed to keep Jason's identity from his wife and family so badly that my _LIFE_ didn't matter to you? What kind of person are you?"

Sam was looking from him to the nurse, who had gotten so shaky that she had to sit down on the sofa. She looked terrified. "Of course not, Hayden. They were both so desperate to have their own way that they didn't care who they hurt, or even _murder_ to get it, isn't that right, Elizabeth?" Sam knew that her using the word over and over would annoy them both.

The nurse started shaking her head and was about to say something when the prince cut her off, "if you're both done throwing pointless, baseless, accusations around, you can leave now."

Sam didn't answer him, just whipped out her phone, held it up and wiggled it for dramatic effect as she waited for both the dark one and the nurse to wonder her intent. Then pointedly sticking out her finger, she held it over the button for a second while she stared at both of them with a look on her face as though to ask, _what will she do next_ , right before she pressed play and their voices filled the room.

At the recorded sound of them discussing Hayden's shooting, the nurse sank back even more into the sofa and burst into tears. Nicholas turned his head to look at her for a second before he eased back around to face both women standing there, just in time to hear himself say, _relax, if they do anything to hurt you, my guy will not miss again. He botched her shooting the first time, he knows better than to fail a Cassadine twice_.

To his credit, Sam thought, he was still not flinching, but he couldn't hide the new worry in his eyes. She knew that he was aware that they had him, but he would play brazen up until the very last, his decorum demanded it. Sam had never felt more sorry for the way he was raised as in that moment. It had to be hell on a kid to have to go through the stoicism and the regiment of a Cassadine upbringing, one that it appeared turned them all into killers and maniacs. It was usually at times like those that she was glad she didn't know them growing up. Anything was better than living as one of them.

Just then Nicholas lost his cool and moved rapidly towards Sam, grabbing at the phone in her hand, but she was too fast, moving it out of his reach and sticking it in her back pocket. He lunged at her, gripping her arm harshly, shouting, "give me that! You had no right to tape me in my home. Give me the damn phone!"

And that's when all hell broke loose. From out of nowhere, Jason was there, charging in from the doorway and rushing at Nicholas with murder in his eyes. "Get your fucking hands off my wife!"


	12. Chapter 12

In a flash Jason had vigorously removed the iron grip the prince had on Sam, crushing his fingers and pushing him back so hard that he stumbled several feet and before he could steady himself, Jason had rushed him with a mighty body slam, sending him back into the desk where he knocked over several items that scattered to the floor. Recovering fast from his initial shock, the prince reared towards Jason, who it seemed was anticipating that response and delivered a power packed fist to the prince's haughty jaw, seemingly throwing his entire body behind the punch. The force sent Nicholas straight down to the floor with a huge thud.

In that same instant, Hayden had rounded on Elizabeth and both women were engrossed in a brittle catfight with Hayden using both hands to grab fistfuls of Elizabeth's hair, pulling mercilessly as Elizabeth covered both hands that were inflicting severe pain at her roots, trying desperately to free herself. "You bitch, you knew Nicholas tried to have me killed and you kept quiet about it!" Hayden spun her around by her hair, making circle after circle in the room, finally pushing her hard and letting go, watching as she hit the floor with a resounding thump. Elizabeth rested back on her hands and scooted frantically backwards away from the angry woman, hitting a wall then using it to brace her back as she eased herself up onto her feet, eyeing Hayden warily as she advanced upon her again. "Screwing another woman's husband was so vital to you that you didn't care that your prince tried to kill me to keep your nasty little secret, and then you have the nerve to act superior and condescending to people, you pathetic little shrew!"

Elizabeth was frightened but she was adamant. Everyone was attacking her when all she'd wanted was to have her time with the man she loved and raise their family together. Why couldn't anyone seem to get that? Nicholas got it. Laura, and even Lucky got it, so why did everyone else have to act like it was so wrong? "That's not how it happened. None of it was supposed to happen!"

"Really? And just what did you think was going to happen, huh? You expected to ride off into the sunset and sail on through after you'd trashed people's lives for your own selfish gains? Like you're all that matters? What you want is all that counts?"

"I didn't tell anybody to shoot you. It was your own damn fault for sticking your nose into other people's business where it didn't belong. You had no right to tell Jason anything! You brought it on yourself!"

She shrieked as Hayden lunged at her again.

Sam leant back against the desk and surveyed the chaos in the room. In one corner Hayden was beating the blazes out of Elizabeth and in the other, Jason, who had come out of nowhere, was wiping the floor with Nicholas, literally. She watched him straighten up and look down at the prince on the floor, then he shook his strong, toned arms and cracked his neck, preparing for the man to stand up so he could knock him right back down. Sam reached for the phone in her back pocket, typed away on it for a moment, then put two fingers to her lips and let out a blaring whistle. The commotion in the room came to a halt as everyone turned to look towards her. She held up the phone as she said, "this isn't necessary. We have what we came for, so we can go now."

The prince hoisted himself slowly to his feet, touching his mouth gingerly to wipe the blood seeping from his busted lip. "Sam, we can work this out. You don't need to involve the police."

"Don't talk to my wife!" Jason glared at the prince like he was aching to bodyslam him again.

"Jason, Jason, it's okay." Sam was cool as rain. "It sounds like my cousin has an offer…I can't wait to hear this."

The prince straightened up all the way and staggered slowly towards her. "I have something you want, something much more valuable to the Quartermaines than what's on that phone."

Sam reached behind her to grab a sheet of paper from the desk. "You mean…this?" She waved it in the air like a white flag.

The prince's head went up as Jason came to a stop next to Sam and took the paper that she was then holding out to him. He read for a second then looked over to the prince, "ELQ stock? You're trying to use stock that you _stole_ from my family to buy your way out of this?"

"Take it! You can have it all back, just give me that phone."

Jason turned to look at Sam who shrugged her shoulders in deference to it being his decision. Something mischievous in her eyes and the tiny curl at the corners of her mouth told him she had something up her sleeve, so he motioned the prince over to the desk and handed him a pen from it. Nicholas eyed them both with open hatred before he grabbed the pen roughly and bent over the desk to sign the certificates. He finished signing and handed the folder over to Jason, looking him grudgingly in the eye, then held out his hand to Sam for the phone.

Hayden was not pleased. "Wait a minute, you can't let him get away with this!" She scowled at Sam as she came closer to them, "you're not the one he tried to kill, you can't just give that to him!"

Sam handed over the phone to Nicholas' greedy little hands and smiled. "you're absolutely right, Hayden…I am not the one he tried to _murder_. But you see, Nicholas bargained for the _phone_ and what was on it, he said nothing about what's on my laptop, what's on your laptop, on _your_ phone, and he certainly did not mention the recording that was emailed to my partner during his little brawl." She was looking the prince dead in the eyes as she spoke. As comprehension dawned in them, he made a sudden move to reach for her arm but felt a staggering pain as Jason punched him in the throat before he could touch her. The prince went down gasping for air, landing on his knees in front of Sam, who looked down at him and sneered, "kneeling to me cousin? No need for such formalities between us, I'll be going to the police now, me and my stupid little friend over here." She gestured towards Hayden, then bent over to whisper to him "and we'll just take all the stolen ELQ stock certificates with us for safe keeping." The two ladies then walked purposely from the study, stopping to grab the equipment from the room next door before they made their way out the front and round back towards the speedboat. Jason stopped long enough to glare at the fallen prince who was still clutching his throat in one hand with the other planted on the floor in front of him. "You ever touch my wife again and I swear I'll kill you." Then he looked over to the small woman still crouching in the far corner, her eyes glued to the floor before her, unable to raise them to face him. Jason shook his head at them both and followed his wife out the front door and towards the dock.

An hour later all three were back at the offices of McCall and Jackal, going over the details of the evening. Sam leaned back against her desk and looked over to Jason lounging casually against the window sill, studying her intently. "What were you doing at Windermere? Did you know I was there?" She was curious.

Hayden, who was sitting in the chair in front of Spinelli's desk, recapped the bottle she'd just drunk water from and looked one to the other, curiously eying the simmering heat between them.

Jason smiled at his wife, thinking to himself how fearless and capable she was, remembering how he'd always admired her bravery and loyalty. When she set her mind to something there was no talking her out of it and she would give any mission her undivided attention and mental acuity, usually leaving whoever opposed her regretting it afterwards. She was beautiful, smart, feisty, and full of energy and vitality, and she often left him completely breathless.

"Don't get mad, but I got it out of Spinelli." He raised himself off the window sill and approached her desk slowly. "I called him to ask his help with something and he mentioned he was in the middle of assisting you with a case, so I badgered the details out of him."

Sam wasn't mad but he didn't need to know that. "I had it under control, you know. You didn't need to come to the rescue, Hayden and I could handle those two just fine."

Hayden, who could never resist an opportunity to create a little mischief, piped up, "actually, Jason, you showed up just in time. You're the perfect backup for a situation like the one we were in."

Sam's eyes shot to Hayden suspiciously, knowing from experience that the con was up to something. She'd arrived in town pretending to be married to Jake Doe, and given that she didn't know at the time that he was Jason Morgan and had even gotten shot when she'd found out and tried to warn them, Sam hadn't slammed the door in her face when she turned up looking for help. Of course, the minute she'd mentioned a certain someone's possible involvement it was all Sam could do not to offer to do the job for free. "Hayden, I'm sure Jason has better things to do. We can take care of the rest of this without involving him."

He was standing immediately in front of her, "what is that exactly?" She looked beautiful, clad in his favorite thing to see her in, skinny jeans and t-shirt with a short, black leather jacket open at the front, her signature high heeled stiletto boots making her appear taller than she really was. He never did understand how she moved so easily in those things, and as he openly admired her toned outstretched legs crossed at the ankle in front of her as she perched on the desk, he smiled to himself imagining the knife he knew she had tucked away in them.

He was curious to know her next plan of action, eager to assist in any way she'd let him, "tell me." He couldn't take his eyes off her kissable lips.

When Sam didn't speak, Hayden interjected, "it could get a little tricky, are you sure you want to know?"

"Tricky, how?"

Sam watched him as she said cautiously, "you know that this involves Elizabeth, so there's an obvious conflict of interest for you, given that she's your wife and all."

He looked deep into her chocolate browns and took great pleasure in saying the next words that he had sought her all day to say to her, "she's not my wife. Not anymore." Sam couldn't help notice the nervous energy that tugged at her heart at hearing the words, but she would not let them affect her.

Hayden found the palpitating tension between them quite interesting. She wondered if they even realized how they reacted to each other. It seemed almost instinctive. "Oh, do tell," she prodded.

Neither responded but rather carried on their private conversation with their eyes. Finally, Sam raised a curious eyebrow and broke the torrid, charged silence between them. "You do realize that she could end up in jail when I turn this over? I'm not about to pussyfoot around anything that I uncovered, mother of your child or not, the bitch is going down?" She made sure she was crystal clear.

His immediate response was to question, "do you need my help?"

Sam lifted her chin as she studied his straight face and she knew in that instant that something had indeed shifted between him and the nurse. She never thought she'd live to see the day that Jason Morgan wasn't lining up to protect and defend the sneaky siren who's always had him so completely convinced that she was innocent and defenseless.

Jason smiled to himself at the determination in her eyes. He knew deep down that this was the perfect way to move in on her. He would be there to make sure that nothing happened while she did her thing, using that golden opportunity to remind her how great they worked together, right before he'd break out the moonlit rooftop dinners…she never could say no to those either. He smiled to himself again, listening to her plan of attack on her cousin and his ex, while he secretly planned his own attack on her heart. She wouldn't even see him coming.

"The Fallen Prince and Nurse Nutcase can spend a very restless night worrying about what's coming their way, then tomorrow I send an anonymous email to Detective Falconari, so that he can reopen the case against Sean. I know that he admitted to some other crimes related to Sonny's organization that helped put him in jail, but Hayden's shooting was the golden egg that was used to prosecute and sentence him. His lawyers should have a field day with this new evidence and they should be able use it to at least get him a new trial and hopefully out of jail in the meantime."

Jason's smile grew wider and his eyes gleamed. "Smart, as well as beautiful and talented! He shook his head slowly and asked, "how the hell was my brain ever able to forget _you_?"

He was up to something, Sam just knew it, but whatever it was would have to wait. She cleared her throat and grabbed her keys and laptop bag from the desk. "As much as I'm enjoying this little…whatever this is, I have to go. Maxie texted me earlier that she needs to see me, so I'm off to tuck Danny in and then meet her for a quick drink." She looked over to Hayden who had risen from her chair and was still watching them curiously. "What are your plans for the evening?"

Hayden flashed her hand, "don't worry about me, I'm meeting Curtis for dinner and then I'm off to get some sleep. See you bright and early tomorrow? We can watch the unravelling together - what do you say?"

Sam chuckled as she led the way towards the door, "whatever you want."

Jason made sure both ladies got to their cars safely and as he watched them drive away he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text: _She'll be there. Make sure everything's set._


	13. Chapter 13

_Thank you so much for the reviews, even the hateful ones means you're reading my story with me 'n my JaSam "delusions." DWL! Hey, my true JaSam peeps! Thank you for the wonderful reviews and encouragement - you guys are awesome! Just so you know, I actually shed a tear writing this chapter, so_ _tissue warning_ _! LOL! There's more JaSam goodness on the way - let's do this…_

"Maxie, where the hell are you?" Sam had arrived at the address Maxie had given her for the new bar but it turned out to be a baseball field. Thinking that her SUV's GPS had gotten her lost she double-checked the address on her phone, which only mapped the same route that she had followed to her present location. Looking around and not seeing Maxie's car in the parking lot, Sam wasn't convinced that she was in the right place so after three unanswered text messages, she dialed her number.

"I'm sooo sorry, Sam! Just hang tight two minutes!"

"Hang tight where, Maxie - I can't possibly be at the right place so you gave me a bum address!"

"What? Wait, you're not at the baseball field?"

"You mean you _intended_ to send me here? Since when do you like baseball and since when do we meet for drinks at a baseball field?"

"I just want somewhere private and I got the bottle - just relax, Sam - two minutes! _Luck_!"

"Wait, Maxi, how…" Sam stopped talking as the phone went dead. "Oh, great."

Maxie hung up with Sam and immediately dialed Jason's number, yelling before he even said hello.

"What the hell, Jason! You get me to send my best friend out into the middle of nowhere so you can leave her waiting alone in an empty damn parking lot? Why aren't you there yet? You were supposed to be there waiting when she got there, what the hell?"

Jason started to say, "I just had to pickup…" but she cut him off in true Maxie fashion.

"That's exactly the type of crap horror movies are made of. I swear, Jason, if you let anything happen to my best friend I'll be the worst damn alarm clock slash bedtime story of your life. You'll hear my voice so much it'll run on loops in your dreams for the rest of your unnatural days! What the hell's taking you so long? You're trying to beg the woman to forgive you and take you back after your _EPIC_ departure from common sense and good taste, and _YOU'RE LATE_?"

"I'm pulling up right now, Maxie. Gotta go." He hung up quickly as she started again, heading off the usual migraine that was trying to set in behind his eyes. Jason pulled up next to Sam's SUV and got out, walking around to her door hurriedly. He held up his hand in hello, then knocked softly on her rolled up window as she sat there looking at him without moving.

Sam sat in her SUV and watched as Jason pulled up next to her. "Son of a bitch! I'm gonna fucking kill her," she mumbled to herself, figuring out why she was there and Maxie wasn't. She watched as he left his SUV and walked around to her door, standing there looking at her. For a second Sam seriously considered putting her car in reverse and leaving him standing right there, but the curious side of her wanted to know what this was about. After a full minute of just watching him standing out there looking almost sheepish, waiting to see what she'd do, she finally rolled the window down. "Jaason?"

"Hi."

"Hi. What're you doing?"

He reached for the door handle and when it didn't budge he motioned for her to unlock it. She looked at him as though contemplating again, before she did and stepped down from the truck, ignoring the hand he offered trying to help her down. "What're we doing here, Jason?" She stood in front of him.

"First, I'm sorry I'm late, I was supposed to be here waiting for you when you got here, I'm really sorry about that."

"That's all fine and good but why am I here?"

"Again, I'm sorry, I know that you don't like games, Sam, but you wouldn't have come if I'd asked you myself."

"Okay, I'll give you that. So…what's this about?" She noticed that he actually looked nervous and thought to herself, good - he should be!

"I just think we really need to talk and let's face it, you refuse to give us the opportunity to be alone long enough to make that happen. Please, can we talk, just for a little while?"

Sam stuck her hands in her jacket and looked around them at the clear night with Nature's star studded ceiling above. They were on the outskirts of town and there was only one other car at the far end of the parking lot. She nodded in its direction, "someone you know?"

Jason followed her gaze then looked back to her with a sly smile, "yes."

Sam was guarded. She didn't appreciate being ambushed but she agreed that they needed to talk. They had been making circles around the growing tension between them and maybe clearing the air once and for all would do them some good. "Fine. You wanna talk, let's talk. You had to bring us out here to do it?"

He smiled again. "Thought it would be safer if I give you something other than my head to hit."

Sam eyed him and thought to herself he didn't know how right he was because she wanted to hit him right then. Instead she kept her hands in her pockets and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, lead the way then."

She could see the relief as it washed over him but she ignored it and fell in step as he turned towards the gate that led to the field. Three minutes later they walked into the dugout where he had the gear stashed. He handed her an helmet, then tried to brush an errant loch of hair from her face after she'd donned it, but she saw his hand coming and took a step back, almost on instinct. Sam saw the hurt look that crossed his face for a second before she took the bat and headed towards the mound. He was right, she could really benefit from hitting something in that moment. As if reading her thoughts, he came up next to her and showed her the remote in his hand. "Ready?"

After she nodded and took up stance, having used her foot to sweep the dirt to find her footing, he pressed the button to start the baseball machine. Jason was expecting her to miss the first couple swings as she got used to the trajectory of the balls coming at her but she hit the very first one out with a resounding crack, making him instantly second guess the wisdom of his putting a weapon in her hands when he knew how angry she still was at him. Almost instinctively he moved to stand behind her…not much chance of her _accidentally_ hitting a ball in that direction, and as he stood there he applauded his wise decision to move. Not only was he safely out of target range but the new spot afforded him the very best view on the entire field. Jason watched her swing vigorously at the balls as he got to fully appreciate the tight, jeans clad cheeks in front of him. Sam had always been beautiful to him but with the memories of their life together fresh in his mind it was as if he saw her in a whole new light. Her outward beauty had become so much more pronounced when he remembered her inner beauty as well - her huge heart, her unselfish spirit, her zestfulness and courage. He loved everything about her, the way she adored their son, how fiercely protective and attentive to him she was, how thoughtful and resourceful she'd proven herself to be over the years, even her anger was a thing of beauty to watch. In the next instant, that anger was turned on him! She'd turned suddenly to look at him and he realized that she had spoken and he'd completely missed it and not only that but she'd caught the downward angle his eyes just travelled from. Looking in hers, he knew he was in for it. He cleared his throat and straightened his back to his full height as if preparing for defense. "Ahem. Sorry, what?"

Sam wanted to throw the bat at his head. Was he standing behind her all this time looking at her ass? "I said, can you increase the speed?" He was, his ass had moved behind her so that he could check her out without being noticed! She had been getting angrier with each hit and the balls were moving too slow to soothe her so she wanted him to increase the speed.

"I don't know, Sam, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Her answer was to turn back around to wait for the next ball, then twist her body in such a way as to send it swinging in his direction with a loud whack!

Jason saw her swing and realized her intention in the split second before the ball came whizzing by his arm, missing him only because he jumped to the right the second before it could make connection. "Okay, maybe this wasn't the greatest idea." He moved around in front of her and pressed the remote to turn off the machine.

Sam was really angry. "I disagree - this was the perfect idea! We're just getting started, let's go!"

Jason was shaking his head. "I just wanted us to have a chance to talk, Sam…" he pointed over to the far corner of the field where she turned and saw flickering lights ontop of white linen, and a waiter standing next to the table watching them at bat, "have a little dinner under the stars, I remember how much you love the stars," he finished.

Sam looked back at him in awe. "Candlelight, Jason? You think dinner by candlelight is what we need right now?" She threw the bat to the ground in frustration, anxious for it to leave her hands before she used it the way she really wanted to. "We have _real_ issues, Jason, do you get that? You didn't forget our anniversary or my birthday, you chose, _chose_ to build a life with someone else, and then you were an asshole not only to me but to our son because of it. Do you get that candles and stars cannot undo any of that or replace the trust that you and I always had between us? God, Jason, even when I hated you I trusted you! Do you have any idea how painful it is to wake up from the nightmare that's been our lives for the past few years to find that gone?"

Jason was taken aback. He knew that she was still angry at him but they had talked about his choice to stay with Elizabeth after they found out that he was Jason Morgan, he didn't realize that she was still holding on to it. God, how blind has he been?

He took a step towards her but stopped when she took one backward. "Sam, I know that romance won't fix anything that happened, but I can't fix any of it if you won't give me a chance to. All I want is the chance to sit down and talk, like we used to." He had to make her hear his pleas, he'd die if she wouldn't, she just had to give him a chance. "Please, Sam, please talk to me. I have to find a way to fix this, please give me the chance to fix it." Jason noticed his vision suddenly got blurry and he wanted to turn away so she couldn't see but the urgency to make her understand was so much greater than his male pride. "I know you don't owe me anything, Sam, I know that I hurt you…I was a fool and a jerk and you have every right to hate me, but please, Sam, please don't turn your back on us now, not without giving me the chance to fix it."

His pleas didn't fall on deaf ears. As angry as she was at him he was still the man she owed the most to in her life. He was still the man who gave her the greatest treasures she had in the world - her beautiful son and her sense of self. He was the man who first made her realize that she was worthy of love and all that came with it. He taught her that she was enough, that she didn't have to be anything or anyone more than who she was to be worthy of the greatest kind of love, and to top it all off, he'd given her Danny.

Without a word Sam stuck her hands in her jacket pockets again and started walking towards the table and the waiter. She supposed with all that he'd given her that she could give him dinner.

Jason watched her for a couple seconds, utter relief coursing through him like a wave, and as he dropped his bat and turned to follow her, he looked up to the stars and whispered, "thank you!"

Sam sank into the chair that the waiter pulled out for her and she had to admit that the setting was beautiful. The stars were out in full force and she was able to give full appreciation for the picture she and her dining companion presented…two specs of humanity out on a lush green field surrounded by a quiet night and blanketed by the stars spanning a vast universe. The out of place table set for two with its shimmering candles and chilled bottle of wine were nice touches to the canvas. Yes, it was romantic, but romance was not on the list for tonight, whether Jason Morgan knew it or not!

The waiter poured the wine before he turned to the wheeled bar in the corner and returned with two steaming plates that he set down cautiously, asking if they needed anything else before he retreated. Sam looked at the plate in front of her and her stomach sounded out her hunger instantly. She'd shared some Mac-N-Cheese with Danny earlier that evening but that was long gone and the seafood plate in front of her was calling her name. She looked over at Jason suspiciously, "Squid?"

He wanted to smile but decided against it, knowing she wouldn't appreciate his levity in that moment. "It's not Noodle Buddha but Carly promised me her chef is pretty good."

"Carly? So Maxie wasn't my only traitorous friend that you roped into helping you with this?" She was still going to kill Maxie and now she could add Carly to the list.

"Don't blame them, Sam. They love you and they know that I love you and you're way too stubborn to listen to me without assistance, so here we are," he opened his arms as if to accentuate his point. "Im not trying to make matters worse, I just want to know what I can do." He leant across the table to engage her fully, "tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it, whatever it is, I'll do it. Just please, don't tell me to leave you alone."

Sam was using her fork to lance a chunk of crabmeat when she suddenly stabbed it instead. Looking over at him she said, "don't do that, you don't get to be charming and sweet and imploring after what you did." She dropped the fork to her plate and leaned across the table too. "I don't get the sudden urge to be a family with me and Danny again. You wanted nothing to do with us, Jason. You wanted nothing to do with my husband, the man he was. You decided that your new life was much more appealing to you and it makes me believe that it's what you really want, so why are you doing all this? Why all of a sudden are you trying so hard to go back to being _my_ Jason? Getting your memories back shouldn't affect who you are at your core, so which is it, Jason, who's the real you?"

Jason eased back slowly from the tabletop, mentally chastising himself for not seeing it sooner. He did this, he'd made her doubt him and doubt what he feels for her. He'd made her doubt what he's always felt for her. "I'm both of them, Sam," he replied quietly. When she looked skeptical he continued, "it's never been about living a quiet life with anybody else. When I found out I was Jason Morgan, I felt _stuck_ , Sam. Not only had I made promises to those boys but I liked being a simple guy with simple problems to solve and a simple existence. It was what I'd known for a year, and I was at peace with it. Then I found out that the man who everybody kept talking about since I woke up from that coma, the man who was ten feet tall in their eyes, the man who practically walked on water and was this town's most dangerous and feared killer was _me_? I didn't feel like I could live up to him for all of you, and I know I didn't want to be able to kill at somebody's orders."

Jason saw that she was looking down and he needed her to see his eyes, to see the truth in them, so he inclined his head to get her attention, holding it when she looked up, "it was never that I didn't want to be married to you or to be Danny's father…I honestly felt like Jake Doe fell short of your husband, Sam. The way you talked about the man, the way you loved him was the most powerful thing I'd ever come across, and I wasn't _him_. I was this simple Joe with no memory of what we had together, so essentially nothing to offer you…you, the dynamite mother and doctor's fiancee…I had no right to draw you out of the wonderful life that you'd created for yourself! To offer you what? What may have turned into a lifetime of me never remembering? Never being able to share in the recollection of an adventure, or a favorite date, or even a tiny, private joke from our past together?" He leant across the table again. "You deserved a lot more than a guy like me, Sam. And you had it - you had a new life and you were happy and in love, I had no right to take that from you after all I'd put you through already. Danny was a happy, well adjusted, loved little boy and you- _you_ gave him that!" Jason's vision got blurry, "I was his father but you gave him a better role model than a hired killer with no memory of him or the love that created him…I couldn't take that from him - I couldn't take it from _you_ …so I kept my distance, for both your sake, I let you go."

"Let us go? Kept your distance? Sam slammed both hands down on the table, rattling her silverware. What you did was ignore and belittle us, Jason! Everyday that you were gone from our lives I talked to our son about you, about how much you loved him, because I had to make sure that he always knew who his father was. _Of course_ you were ten feet tall to us! _You_ were the person who kept us safe and warm, you saved our son from a crazy woman who tried to jump off a roof with him, you gave us comfort, wrapped us up with love and gave us a home, a family, we _belonged_! Because of you our son would never have to grow up the way that I did, he would never know a day that we didn't love and want him - you used to say that. I know you didn't remember any of it but how could you not have wanted to? How could you not have wondered?" Angry tears welled in her eyes, "how could you not even try?"

His eyes got glossier when he saw her tears, why did he always hurt her so much? "I was a coward, Sam. I didn't think I could live up to that kind of love. The kind of love that you talked about was so powerful I could almost touch it at times…and I _did_ wonder, I _did_ want to! But what if I failed? What if you were never able to feel that way about me again? What if by trying I ended up defacing that love with resentment because I couldn't measure up without my memories?"

Sam was surprised, "since when do you do ' _what if_ ' Jason? You've never been able to picture or speculate about anything ahead of you. What changed?"

He shrugged his shoulders lightly, shaking his head, "I couldn't risk hurting you even more, Sam. I'd done enough, leaving you to go get shot, to raise our son by yourself, I couldn't ask you to wait around for a man I didn't think I could be again?" He reached across the table and took her hand, holding steadfast when she tried to pull away. "I remember now that you accepted every single part of me, the ugliest part of me that hates that I can pull a trigger and take a life, you're able to see that I did it in protection of those I love. I know now that I've never taken a life that wouldn't have taken mine first, given the chance. I remember now that you've always thought I was enough, whether I gave you a penthouse in the middle of town, or a modest cottage on the beach a world away, whether I lived as Sonny's hired gun or just the owner of a little beachside bar, you've always, always accepted all of me. You've loved me through the darkness where I thought I belonged, and you brought out a light side of me that never existed before you." His voice cracked with the force of his feeling. "I _need_ you, Sam. Please don't leave me."

Sam swiped angrily at the tears streaming down her face, why the hell was she crying? She pushed back from the table and walked a few feet away, turning to mask the tears that wouldn't stop. She was still so very angry, and she knew where it was coming from. Just a few days ago she had put it all aside and had moved on from him and his string of bad decisions that had derailed their lives more than once. She had never blamed him for going to work that night and she never would, but she blamed him for how he's behaved since coming back. She now understood part of what led to his recent bad decisions, but hearing why he made them didn't lessen the hurt that he did. It should have somehow, but she expected more from him, more from their love. He hadn't come through for their love each time it got tested in the worst ways…not when Manny shot her and he broke up with her, not when he unwittingly got the bitch pregnant from a one night stand and he hid his child from her, not when Franco and Heather tried to use their family as pawns and he let it drive a wedge between them so they missed out on Danny's pregnancy, and certainly not when Nurse Nutcase wanted to get married and he went through with it. She had forgiven him everything, had let their love guide her heart to forgive him all past transgressions because they belonged together, they always had. But she didn't know if she could forgive him this. He actually went ahead and put a ring on her finger and promised her forever - the woman who tried more than once to destroy them, who almost succeeded in getting them to hate each other forever, who had knowingly kept their child's maternal identity from them in order to keep them apart, the woman who would have let them go on forever with her son never knowing his father, never knowing his father's love - how could she ever be able to forgive him that?

Jason walked up behind her and stood as close as he dared but didn't touch her, he knew she didn't want him to touch her then, so he shoved nervous hands that were yearning to hold her in his pockets so they wouldn't automatically reach for her. She was shutting down and he knew he had more work to do. "Sam." Her name was soft on his lips.

She lifted her head in acknowledgment but she didn't move. Jason continued, "I've been seeing Kevin Collins at GH and he's helping me through some things."

She turned to look at him, surprise in her eyes, but she didn't ask.

He was earnestly pleading in his next words to her, "would you come with me to see him sometime?"

Surprise grew in her expressive eyes. " _You_? _You're_ in therapy?"

He nodded, not missing the wonderment in her question. "Would you consider doing a session with me?"

"How long have you been doing this?"

He didn't like talking about seeing a shrink but he would do absolutely anything to get his life back and he wanted, needed her and Danny in it. "I've been going a couple weeks and it's been helping. Will you think about it, please? For me?" His eyes were pleading again, "for us?"

Just then, rain started pouring down on them with instant ferocity. Sam looked up, shielding her eyes with her hand as she started to head for cover, only to stop short when Jason grabbed her other hand and held her there, looking down into her eyes softly. She was transfixed by the deepest blue, as he turned to face her fully, reaching to tenderly sweep a wet strand of hair from her face, before he continued down to caress her cheek with the softest brush of the back of his fingers. With their eyes locked, Sam couldn't miss the heated electricity that surged between them and as Jason's hand left her cheek to move down her arm, his eyes slowly following suit, Sam became acutely aware of his fingers lightly brushing over the surface, literally burning through the leather of her jacket with its intensity. As her breath held and her heart pounded through her chest, Jason snaked his arm around to encircle her waist, pulling her close to hold her tightly against his body as he started to move, slowly shifting his feet, moving her with him. He locked eyes with her again, placing his face so close to hers that their breaths mingled sweetly, before his forehead was upon hers, both their eyes closed as he continued to turn them to the music in their hearts and the song in their souls.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been a sleepless night for Jason but he awoke the next morning with reinforced determination. The MetroCourt suite was a temporary solution, he was determined that his home would be with Sam and Danny again so he had to find a way to work things out with his wife. He tossed for the hundredth time in the plush, King size bed and threw up his arms in frustration, opening his eyes and recalling the dream that had kept him between wake and sleep all night, the beautiful, haunting dream where he held Sam in his arms again. He was able to glean some hope from the fact that she hadn't slugged him when he'd held her close in the rain and had even allowed him to walk her to the car, but he knew when she'd insisted on leaving that she had been affected by their rain dance as much as he was, and it gave him a renewed hope. There was something about the purity and comfort of falling rain that had always been special for them, that's why he hadn't left it up to chance the night before but had used Maxie's connections to acquire a rain machine from a photoshoot, to aide in the cause. It was worth every penny, he thought as he gave up trying to sleep and got out of bed, tossing the Down comforter aside and planting his feet on the floor. He would've paid any money for the few minutes of paradise he'd gotten to spend with his wife in his arms, in the rain. When their dance ended of course she'd noticed and questioned the fixated area of the rainstorm under a cloudless, starry night, so he'd come clean about the machine, and surprisingly she didn't get mad, instead, he would've sworn that there was the briefest, slightest upturn of the corner of her mouth.

Jason walked over to the balcony doors to look down on the town somberly and he prayed that the grayness he saw outside in that moment would not determine the course of that day, then deciding that he would change it if it did, he headed to the shower. He would take his sons to breakfast while he strategized his next move to get his life back.

Jason's first stop was the penthouse. He'd gotten Sam's okay just before she drove away from the field the night before, so when he knocked on the door at eight a.m. he knew they were expecting him. He couldn't stop the nerves from forming as he waited and prayed that she was in a welcoming mood. The smile on his face was immediate when the door swung open to reveal his little golden haired boy, and the pure joy that hit his heart every time Danny greeted him was instantaneous. His baby boy's smile could blot out the sun. He had Sam's smile.

"Hi Daddy!" Danny immediately held his arms out for the hoist he knew was coming.

"Hi buddy!" Jason's responding smile was ear to ear as he swept his son up and hugged him close. "Ready to go?" Danny bobbed his blonde head and Jason ruffled it in return as he looked over at the radiance seated at the dining table, a cup of coffee kissing her lips. "Good morning." Lucky fucking cup!

Sam had watched the exchange between father and son and it warmed her heart every time she witnessed them together. Danny was completely unaware of Sam's feelings about Jason's previous treatment of him, her sweet little man had no reservations whatsoever about his father and Sam was determined to keep it that way. To his credit, Jason had gotten better at making time for their son, had made a point of seeing him daily, no matter how briefly, and called him every night before bed. They even had weekly excursions that both were very hush, hush about. The growing bond between them was beautiful to watch, something Sam had always wanted for Danny and she was glad to see Jason making more of an effort. "Good morning."

Danny wasted no time listing his menu choices for Jason, then looking over to his mother he asked, "will you come, Momma? You can have chocolate pancakes too."

Sam smiled at her baby's innocence. "Not today, baby. Momma has to work but you and Daddy have fun, okay?"

Danny bobbed his head at her.

"Hey, Danny, how about we go pickup Jake and his brothers and we have a pancake showdown, how does that sound? Think you can eat more pancakes than Aiden?"

Danny smiled wide, "yaw, let's go Daddy."

Jason put him back on his feet and sent him to get his coat before he moved closer to the table. "Good morning," he said softly, admiring the pretty picture in yoga pants and tank before him. He remembered when his t-shirts were her favorite nightwear and they had never looked better than when she wore them.

She was still watching him. "You said that already."

He smiled shyly at her, "yeah, well, it's good enough to bear repeating." She looked away to the laptop before her and he stepped closer to see that she was checking emails. "Did you send it yet?"

Sam looked at his eyes to gauge his response to her next words, "just did. She's gonna need comforting before the day's out so you might want to keep your phone on."

Jason knew what she was doing and he knew it was his job to make sure that she understood. It was his fault that she doubted him in the first place. "She needs a lawyer, not me. There's nothing I can do for her and I'll be too busy trying to make this okay for my sons and the rest of my family that her actions affected…she's not my concern."

Twenty minutes later Jason rang the doorbell at Elizabeth's house and waited, turning back to wave at Danny in the truck, who waved and smiled back at him. Elizabeth was more than a little shocked to see him but she tried not to look hopeful. Any lingering hopes were dashed when he got right to the point. "Hi. Are the boys up yet, I wanted to take them to breakfast?"

Her eyes popped open wide. "Excuse me?"

He repeated his question. "Are the boys up?"

She drew her sweater closer around to hug her body. "They just got up but why would I allow them to go anywhere with you?"

It was his turn to be surprised. It hadn't even occurred to him that she might say no. "Danny and I are going to Kelly's for pancakes and we'd like the boys to join us." He spoke slowly as if trying to make a child understand.

"My boys aren't going anywhere with the child of the woman who's trying to ruin my life, and you should've thought about seeing your son when you sided with her against me."

Jason rubbed his hand across his face in frustration. "I'm not going to stand here and argue with you about any of this. My son wants to have breakfast with his brother - why is there a problem with that? For God's sakes, Elizabeth, it's only pancakes!"

"I told you he's not going anywhere!"

His frustration with her was mounting. "I'm not rehashing any of this with you right now. Where is my son?" He turned and checked on Danny again, who had his head down so Jason knew he was playing with his handheld video game. He leaned in the doorway and shouted, "Jake, hey come down here a minute?"

"Do you have any idea what I went through last night? I've been a nervous wreck waiting for the police to knock on my door because the tramp that you got knocked up can't mind her own damn business. She probably enjoyed that didn't she - you two sat around all night laughing it up while your son's mother is worried sick over something that isn't even my fault. How can you let her do this to me, Jason?"

Jason took a long, deep breath before he responded. "Elizabeth, Sam was no drunken one night stand that I _knocked up_ , she was my wife when she got pregnant with our child! You're here sweating bullets because you covered up for your accomplice who tried to kill an innocent woman so you could have your own selfish way - you did that, not Sam - you! If I were you, I'd worry more about Jake seeing police cuff and cart you off to jail for attempted murder. Worry more about that than whether or not you will _allow_ my son to spend time with me." He dropped his voice as he heard running steps on the stairs behind her, "keep pushing me, Elizabeth, like I don't still have Diane on retainer."

"Dad!"

"Hey buddy? How're you?" He hugged Jake's shoulders as Jake hugged him around the waist. "Have you and your brothers had breakfast yet?"

"Naw, we just woke up. Did you come to make us your famous pancakes?"

"Better than that! Look who's in the car…what say we all go to Kelly's for pancakes?"

Jake stuck his head outside and when he saw his little brother he smiled. "Cool, let me grab Cam and Aiden!" He ran back upstairs and Jason was left to face a fuming Elizabeth.

"I don't think I need to remind you that you have no legal parental rights to my son, Jason. I don't have to let you see him if I don't want to, and I said no to this little _outing_."

"That was true before I thought my son had died, back when I allowed myself to be talked out of his life. But thank you for the reminder Elizabeth, because I assure you that by the time you get out of jail that will no longer be the case." He turned his back on her, "tell the boys Danny and I are waiting in the car."

Elizabeth got shaky. Jail? So Sam had gone ahead with her plans to turn them over to the police? When she had made it through the night without a visit from the PCPD, Elizabeth had begun to breathe, hoping that the woman had changed her mind and seen reason, or even that Nicholas had done something to stop her, had done _anything_ to stop her. She turned away from the cold air and closed the front door. What was she going to do? What would she tell her boys, tell her grandmother? How would she explain any of this? She drew a shaky hand through her hair and sat down on the couch. Think, Elizabeth, think! You're smart, your resourceful…you fooled them all for months…you can come up with something to get out of this.

Across town Sam Morgan was about to have a full day. After Danny left with Jason she got ready and went into the office only to find her prince of a cousin waiting there for her, arrogantly lounging outside the locked door. Sam looked past him as she unlocked the door and entered her office, sending it whipping back behind her. He caught it just before it could slam in his face, following her inside as though invited.

"Now, cousin, there's no reason for us not to be civil to each other, even though you're trying to ruin my life with your little stunt from yesterday."

Sam sat behind her desk and pulled out her laptop, flipping on the desktop as well. "You can get the hell out, Nicholas…I was done with you yesterday."

He took a seat across from her as he continued, "okay, you and Hayden have had your little revenge. Consider Elizabeth and I duly chastised and punished, now, where's that recording? I know you haven't given it to the police because I would've heard something by now, so where is it?"

Sam looked over at him angrily. "You think you and Elizabeth have paid enough for what you did?" She leant forward in her seat, "you self-important son-of-a-bitch, you kept my husband from me so that you could feed your good friend Elizabeth's sick obsession with him! You kept my son from his father for _money_ , and you think I'm anywhere near done with you? You think a busted lip and leaving you to sweat through the night is payment enough for what you did? Get the fuck out of my office, Nicholas!"

He shifted in the chair, looking her in the eye. "Sam, this has gone far enough. You should be thanking me for keeping Jason away from you and Danny. He's done nothing but hurt you from day one, he was no good for you and he was only going to hurt you again. You and Danny were better off without him!"

" _YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE THAT_! You don't know the first thing about me and Jason and you sure as hell don't get to decide _anything_ about my life! Neither you nor Elizabeth get to decide that my child shouldn't know his father, how dare you!" She'd smack the shit out of him if she was closer. "When Jax and Carly tried to keep your baby away from you, how did you like it? How would you like it now?" Sam saw when her point hit him square in the face. "If some arrogant dick decided that you have no right to be Spencer's father, how would you feel? What gave you the right to decide mine or Danny's future?"

"Being the head of the Cassadine household, that's what! It's my responsibility to look out for the members of my family, Sam, and that includes you and Danny. Jason is a hired killer - I don't know why you've never been able to see him for who he really is. He was no good for you!"

Anger propelled Sam from her chair, causing her to storm around the desk to face the prince head on as he responded by getting to his feet. "That hired killer has more integrity and honor in him than you ever will, _cousin_! Jason might have done unsavory things in the past to save the people he loved but his heart is huge and giving, and do you know where Danny and I live - right in the middle of it! Jason was my _husband_ , he was the father of my child and we missed him _everyday_ \- you had no right to keep him away from us. Nobody asked you to and I sure as hell will never thank you for it!"

"You _should_ be thanking me!" Nicholas was fed up with her ingratitude. You should be thanking me that I tried to keep you safe, tried to give your son a better father!"

"Oh, lets be real here, cousin…you didn't keep Jason's identity quiet for Danny and me, you didn't even keep it quiet for your saint Elizabeth…you kept what you knew so you could hold on to ELQ!" She watched the truth appear in his eyes and continued, "Jason resurfacing would've put a huge damper in your plans and you knew you'd never be able to convince him to sell you his shares - you did all of this for the almighty dollar and your greedy little ass knows it!"

Nicholas exploded. "Damn right I did it for the money! I am solely responsible for the Cassadine fortune! I have lived a certain way and my son has become accustomed to living a royal lifestyle. He will not be subjected to anything less because of Helena and Victor's grand expensive waste of the Cassadine coffers - not while there's breath left in my body!"

Sam looked at her cousin with pity and disbelief. "Listen to yourself, Nicholas. Do you think that you're doing Spencer any favors by teaching him that money is more important than anything else? More important than family, than honesty, than _human life_?" She started to circle him, "you seriously think I would ever allow you to influence _my_ son with any of that poison?"

"Do whatever the hell you want, Sam, I'm done trying to save you from yourself, but you will give me that recording! I will not allow you to ruin my life because you're too immature to appreciate what I've done for you!"

Sam couldn't stop herself from shouting out her rage. "You gave my husband to another woman, like he was a salad bowl or a box of chocolates, you expect me to appreciate that? Then you tried to kill Hayden Barnes over money, you sick bastard."

He shouted back, "damn right I did, and you keep testing me and see what happens!"

Sam snapped her head back before moving into his face, "is that the best you got, _Cousin_?" She wasn't the least bit afraid of him and she'd be damned if she'd let him intimidate her.

Nicholas sighed and readjusted his jacket, simultaneously backing away from her. "This is getting us nowhere. If you refuse to be reasonable, I will be forced to handle this differently."

"How's that? You'll send someone to put a bullet in her head too?" Hayden had come in unnoticed. She sauntered over to Nicholas, "you do realize, _Prince_ , that you just threatened Mrs. Morgan in front of a witness? A witness who you previously tried to have killed?"

Nicholas looked between the two women and shook his head as he turned and made his way to the door.

Sam stopped him before he exited. "By the way, Cousin," she paused to wait for him to turn back to face her, pointing above her head when he did, "previous trouble with break-ins prompted Spinelli to wire this office for sound _and_ he placed cameras inside and out, so guess who's on tape, _again_ , threatening a life, _again_?" She watched him look around the office before he gave her one last hateful glare, then turned and left without saying another word. "Have a nice day…and feel free never to come again!"

Hayden grinned at Sam and applauded as she said, "well played, Mrs. Morgan. I must say, you continue to impress me." Sam's response was to turn on the television, she didn't want to miss a single newscast about the upcoming arrests.

Two hours later Sam was settled in her seat and watching the news with Hayden strolling back and forth restlessly in front of the television when the door burst open and Maxie stormed in, "okay, let me have it!" Her messy-curly blonde bob danced as she moved her hands animatedly, coming to a stop in front of Sam's desk and looking at her friend almost apologetically. "I know you didn't want to be alone with him but come on, Sam, he's the love of your life and he was so pathetic and begging I couldn't say no. Okay, maybe he didn't beg, he's Jason Morgan, the man gives stoicism a new meaning, but he was very convincing, and you know you want your marriage back, so why keep being miserable when he's come back crawling on his hands and knees, begging for your forgiveness." Just then she noticed Hayden. "Who are you?" Without giving her a chance to answer she turned back to Sam, "Did you at least have a good time? How was it? Then again he did take you to a baseball field, who goes to a baseball field to be romantic?" She rolled her eyes, "Jason Morgan, that's who! I tried to talk him into a private dining room at the MetroCourt but nooo, he had to have his way. He's so damn stubborn, I don't know how you put up with him. You're not saying anything, Sam, please, will you just say something?"

Hayden closed her mouth that had fallen open and said, "how could she, you haven't come up for air since you walked in."

Maxie narrowed her eyes at her then turned back to Sam, "who is she?" Then as if forgetting the question again she moved on, "oh, come on Sam, you at least enjoyed the dinner, right? Carly had the squid flown in fresh from Massachusetts just for you and Jason spared no expense making it happen. What about the rain? Do you know how many favors I had to promise to get that machine pulled off an active set in New York to get here in time? I've never understood what you see in that silent brick - I mean the guy doesn't talk, he doesn't smile, he doesn't laugh…but he _is_ beautiful…he's your guy and you love him forever, remember?" She actually paused long enough to sit down across from Sam, dropping her Louis Vuitton on top of the desk, heaving her legs to the chair next to her. Her arms went up in exasperation, "but if you've decided to hate him forever, then I'm right there with you on that too - you're my girl and if you hate him I hate him."

"How do you breathe through all that?" Hayden wanted to know.

Maxie turned back to her, "seriously, who _are_ you?" Then she was up on her feet, instantly rushing towards the television that was on the wall behind Hayden. "Oh, my loving God, is that real?"

Sam and Hayden looked up to see that she was gaping at Elizabeth Webber and Nicholas Cassadine being led into the PCPD in handcuffs, a marquee scrolling across the screen announcing their arrest for the attempted murder of Hayden Barnes. Maxie whipped around to Hayden when she saw the name, "that's it! That's who you are - you're Hayden Barnes!" Then whirling on Sam in the next instant she wanted to know, "why are you hanging out with the woman who Ric was paying to sleep with your husband?"

"Hey, hey, hey, I never slept with Jake!"

"Not from lack of trying so shut up about it." Sam watched the nurse trying to hide her face from the cameras and the prince holding onto his cool demeanor as he glared at the officers opening the door to lead them inside, and she felt nothing for either one of them in their predicament. She felt bad for Spencer and the nurse's boys, knowing that what they would be going through now would not be easy, but steeling her heart one more time she reminded herself that nothing she did led to their decisions to deceive, manipulate, and murder…they both knew they had impressionable children who needed them and that hadn't deterred them from moving to ruin other people's lives. It hadn't been enough to stop either of them. She turned the television off and went back to her case files.

"Did I just see that? Did I really just see Saint Elizabeth being led into the police station in handcuffs? Miss I'm better than everybody else, sleep with every man including my fiancee's brother and get away with every dirty, slimy thing I do because I have big doe eyes and a magically fertile vagina, just got arrested for attempted murder?" Maxie plopped back down in her chair with a thump. "Hell must've frozen over while I wasn't looking!"

Sam was working a case where one partner suspected the other of embezzlement and after tailing the mark for a week she'd found out he made frequent trips to Vermont for some unknown reason that were kept off the books. Her investigation uncovered that he was going to make the trip that weekend so she saw the chance to wrap up her sleuthing and present the findings to her client.

"Jason is finally free from the barracuda! Sam, you're not even listening to me!" Maxie never liked being ignored, not even for a moment.

"Maxie, I'm in the middle of a case, I don't have time to think about Jason." Who was she kidding, when was Jason Morgan ever far away from her mind in some thought or other? She was usually so in love with the man she couldn't think straight, or she was so furious at him that the outcome was the same. No matter the mood Jason put her in, the reaction was always pretty strong, too bad for him this time it was the latter. She looked at her friend and had an idea. "Wanna take a road trip?"

Maxie saw the file in her hand and shook her head. "First of all, that sounds like work, which means you'll be hanging out in some dive trailing some sleezeball with nothing that passes for manners. Second of all, you shouldn't be going anywhere right now when you should be concentrating on taking your life back. Besides, you know I'm practically running Crimson by myself these days, I hardly have time to breathe, much less go anywhere." She shoved a hand in one glove and grabbed her bag, "but call me when you want to do a real trip with massages and facials, I'll definitely make time for that!" She was breezing out the door in the next minute, "Luck!"

Sam could only chuckle at her friend and wave as she left. "Luck!"

"Is she always like that?"

Sam smiled again. People often misunderstood or misjudged Maxie Jones. "If you take Maxie too seriously you'll never like her, but then you'll be missing out on a great friend with a great heart. She's a lot smarter than people give her credit for."

Deciding to get on the road soon, Sam called Jason to tell him about her trip. He was supposed to have Danny for the weekend so she took the opportunity to put her plan into motion early. She knew her baby would enjoy the weekend with his father - who wouldn't love two days in a luxury suite at a five star hotel where not only your father but the owner who happens to be your doting aunt, would be tripping over themselves to pamper and spoil you?

After making arrangements with Jason and talking to Danny she got her gear together, snuck into the garage at the subject's place of business and put a tracker on his car. She waited in a diner on the outskirts of town where she would pickup his trail and after an hour she saw that he was on the move. It was barely dusk as she went out to her car and as she opened the door Sam sensed the presence come up behind her almost as soon as she felt the jarring pain to her head. The twilight evening got pitch black instantly as she succumbed to the beckoning darkness and her body fell back into waiting arms.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ouuoh." Why did her head feel like the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was pounding its way through it? Sam lifted her hand to touch the side of her head and then she remembered - someone had ambushed her from behind. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut before she slowly opened them to pure darkness. Closing and opening them again slowly, she listened for any sound that might indicate where she could be. Not hearing anything, she ventured to raise up on one elbow, the throbbing pain making itself even more pronounced in protest. She wanted to cry out at the pain but caught herself in time, thinking that her captor was more than likely close enough to hear any sound she made. As her eyes slowly became adjusted to the dark, objects began to take shape around her. She was laying on a twin bed crammed in one corner of the room with a chair next to it. The only other object appeared to be a sink with a mirror over it at the opposite end of the room. Sam had no idea where she was and as she laid back down to soothe her throbbing head, she listened intently for any sound on the outside.

She laid there for a minute before she tried sitting up again, this time noticing that her left hand was restricted by something cold and heavy. What the…there was an iron cuff on her hand with a chain running to the side of the bed. Using her other hand to feel along its length, Sam could tell that it ran to the top left corner of the bed and disappeared down the leg. She tried sitting up fully and was hit by a sudden bout of nausea that left her dizzy so she laid back down one more time. Okay, Sam, take it easy for a second, let it pass then get the fuck outta here.

All of a sudden the room was flooded with bright, painful light and Sam flung her hand up to cover her eyes as she squeezed them tight again. "Oh, good, you're up! Welcome to the party sunshine!" The voice was coarse and grating, and Sam forced her eyes open again so she could get a look at its owner. She was half expecting it to be her mark, thinking maybe he had somehow figured out that he was under surveillance and had gotten the drop on her, but the short stocky balding dweeb with the thick accent was not him. She'd never seen this guy before and he looked more like a hired henchman than the corporate type. Sam eyed the gun holster that ran across his shoulder to his waist, weapon in tact, and she wondered if he was alone. He was definitely stronger than her so she wasn't about to engage him in hand to hand combat, but there's more than one way to skin a cat - she knew she could take him.

As if to answer her unasked question he said, "we've been waiting for you to make an appearance. Sorry, didn't realize I hit you so hard." There was nothing sorry in his tone.

Mock now, bigboy, Sam thought. She cleared her throat against the gravel, "where am I? Who're you and what do you want?"

"Questions, questions. That curiosity is why you're here right now."

He was moving closer to the bed and Sam felt at a disadvantage lying down so she sat up, this time fighting through the nausea to swing her feet over the side and place them on the ground, rubbing her temple as she went. "So, I have you to thank for this headache. Payback's a bitch, you know that, right?"

He was laughing at her. "You probably weigh ninety pounds wet and in case you didn't notice you're chained up and at my mercy. I think you're the one who should be worried about payback."

She wanted answers, she could antagonize him later. "Why am I here? I haven't done anything to you, I don't even know you."

"Ah, but you know some other people, dangerous people who's business you should've stayed out of."

That didn't tell her a damn thing. She knew lots of dangerous people. The throbbing in her head was subsiding and her vision was getting more clear, but he didn't need to know that. "Ooouii, my head. How long have I been out?"

He checked his watch, "I sometimes forget my own strength I guess. You've been sleeping for almost nine hours."

Nine hours? That would make it around three or four in the morning. Spinelli knew she was missing by now. He lived across country but they still worked together long distance and one of the stipulations of their partnership and their friendship is that she must check in regularly when she's out on assignment. Every four hours unless the situation calls for longer, and in those cases, tracking is necessary. She should've checked in at eight the night before and then again when she got to her destination in Vermont. He would be tracking the Lojack on her car by now, so hopefully these idiots drove it to wherever they were holding her.

He'd bent over by the bed and laid a bottle of water and a sandwich on the chair. "Here, breakfast is served. You might want to keep your strength up for what's coming your way." He chuckled mockingly as he headed out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Sam looked over at the chair and smirked. As if she'd eat or drink anything from them. What kinda rookie did they take her for? She still didn't know how many of them there were nor where she was. She needed a plan to be ready for whatever they thought they were going to do to her.

Meanwhile, back at the MetroCourt, Jason couldn't sleep a wink. Sam hadn't checked in all night. It was not like her not to call Danny before bed, so when that didn't happen he'd thought maybe she was in a spot that would've comprised her cover at the time, so he let it go, but when she didn't check in by the time she should've gotten to Vermont he started to worry. Something wasn't right. He'd had a hard time getting Danny to sleep, he'd tried everything but his son kept insisting he had to wait up for Mommy because she always called in kisses before bed. He'd finally crashed when he couldn't fight the nods anymore.

Jason looked over at his son sleeping soundly in the middle of the huge bed and he leaned over and kissed his head softly, then got up and walked over to the balcony doors. He didn't want to risk calling her phone just in case she was being covert at the time, so he sent her a text instead: _check-in_. His fingers drummed anxiously against the phone as he waited for her reply. The phone beeped and he quickly read: _I'm fine. Call you later_. His fingers began drumming again. Something still wasn't right, he could feel it, he could feel _her_. He texted again: _David was waiting for his bedtime story - you promised_. Another beep and he read: _I know sorry, I'll call him tomorrow._

His heart skipped a beat and his lungs lost air. Sam was in trouble. Either someone had her phone, or she was being forced to answer what someone else dictated. Sam would've picked up on his code and called to make sure he knew she was safe. Jason looked over at his sleeping son again and hurriedly dialed Carly's number. She answered on the third ring.

"Jason? It's four a.m., what's wrong?"

"Sorry to wake you but I need your help. Can you come over to the hotel?"

"Is it Danny, is he okay?"

He didn't want to say much over the phone. "Can you come?"

"I'll be right there." Carly hung up and jumped out of bed. She knew he didn't want to talk over the phone and if Jason was calling her this early it was deathly important. She wasted no time getting to the hotel, pulling her coat on over her pajamas and donning a baseball cap. She got to the suite and not wanting to wake Danny by knocking, she let herself in using her master key. "Jason?" she whispered, then saw him come out of the bathroom, clad in all black. He saw her and came out to the living area, looking back at a still sleeping Danny as he moved her to the side.

"I need you to stay with Danny for me." At the question in her eyes and raised, upturned hands, he continued, "Sam's missing, I have to go find her."

"What do you mean, Sam's missing?" Carly hadn't meant to be loud and Jason shushed her as he looked back towards the bed to see his son turn in his sleep. In a hushed tone Carly asked, "where is she? What happened?"

Jason ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. She hasn't checked in since yesterday and I sent her a text but it wasn't her that replied. Somebody has her, Carly."

"Who?"

"I don't know. I need to go by her office and see what case it was that was taking her to Vermont. I knew where she was headed but I don't have the details." Just then his phone beeped in his pocket. Jason reached for it quickly, hoping it would be Sam calling him to say she really was fine, but it was Spinelli. The minute he saw Spinelli's name on the screen his worse fears were confirmed. "Spinelli!"

"Yes, it is I, Stonecold! I fear I call bearing sad tidings as I dread our Fair Samantha is at peril."

Jason ran his hand over his mouth and swallowed. He knew it! "I was afraid of that, what do you know, Spinelli?"

"The Fair one has missed all check-ins and all missives requesting confirmation of her well being were returned minus the agreed upon coded lingo. Stonecold, she is in dire need of our assistance!"

Jason started pacing restlessly. "I know she was headed to Vermont, what case was she working on?" He listened intently as Spinelli gave him the details of the embezzling case and the parties involved. "Where in Vermont was she headed, Spinelli?"

"Alas, that is yet another matter of grave concern, Stonecold. I took the liberty of engaging the Lojack system on Fair Samantha's vehicle and am stressed to relay that it's been immobile in the same location for quite some time. Said location is on it's way to your phone momentarily."

"Good, I'll find her car and go from there. Thanks, Spinelli, I'll be in touch." Jason hung up and looked at a worried looking Carly. "I have to go, take care of my son. Tell him I went to get Mommy and we'll see him soon." As Carly nodded, her hands clasped over her mouth and nose, he went back into the bedroom, kissed his son's head again, then returned to the living area, grabbed his duffle from the couch, stuck his gun in his waistband and headed out the door, his leather jacket flapping out behind him. "I'm not coming back without her."

Sam was getting a little anxious in the room by herself. She needed to get out of there but she needed to know more about what she was up against. She started reaching for the bobby pin in her ponytail when she heard the key being turned in the door. This time it was a different visitor, this one was tall and lanky, his angular face looking hard as he stopped at the open door to eye her lasciviously. He made his way slowly into the room, closing the door behind him and walking towards the bed, looking over at the untouched water and sandwich. Shaking his head slowly at her he went, "tsk, tsk, somebody's being a disgruntled guest. Don't you know it's bad manners to refuse your host's refreshments?" He stopped and stuck one hand in his pocket, the other resting on the gun in his holster, similar to the one the other goon wore. His eyes travelled the length of her body thirstily, making Sam's skin crawl.

She knew that look, had seen it on so many captors over the years and it never failed to turn her stomach. Son-of-a-bitch…why did every evil fucker in the universe always seem to want to rape her? Son-of-a-motherfucking-bitch!

"Sorry, I had a huge lunch last week." She needed to get him talking. "So, who're you? Where's bigboy?"

"Don't worry about him - I've got everything you need right here."

"You normally drag poor, defenseless women off the street and leave them chained to a bed for kicks, or is there something you want from me?"

He continued to eye her coldly. "You're going to be here for a while so you might as well get comfortable. Now, where are the copies of the recording?"

Sam wasn't exactly surprised, disappointed yet again and very sad to have her suspicions confirmed, but not surprised. "Nicholas? Nicholas did this?"

He laughed dryly. "Lady, your family makes my set of psychos look normal any day. Yeah, your cousin wants everything you have with him on it. Everything - so where is the rest of it?"

"The police already have the recording. Why would he do this now?"

"Evidence comes up missing all the time and the Cassadines have eyes and hands everywhere - that copy won't even see a courtroom. Now, if there are other copies floating around out there, then that won't be so good for the prince, you get me? So start talking."

"Like hell!"

He smiled at her like that was the answer he'd been waiting for. "Guess I'll just have to check to see if it's on you then. Your cousin did tell all of us to be _very thorough_." He bent over her and grabbed her breast roughly, running his hand down between the valley and over her stomach, easing himself down onto the bed to get closer to her. His eyes were dark and cold and he was leering at her like he'd been waiting to do this all night.

Sam laid there, fighting the bile that sprung to her throat when he touched her, waiting patiently for him to get in place, and as soon as he slid lower down her body to reach her jeans, she grabbed her chance. Lifting her legs and swiftly locking them around his neck she squeezed with all her might. It was easy for people to always underestimate her size, but years of jogging, boxing, yoga and combat sport gave her the core strength of someone twice as big, and she would happily show this goon how she liked being touched without permission.

His hands came up to grab at her legs and Sam squeezed even harder, feeling the veins of his neck strengthening against her thighs as he struggled to breathe. His eyes were bulging with disbelief and his leer had turned to panic as he found himself unable to get air, and still she squeezed, bringing the chain from her cuff to wrap around his neck and pull as hard as she could. She felt the grimace on her face as she remembered his unwelcome hands on her breast and she squeezed till she felt him go limp against her. She squeezed for another few seconds of added surety, then started to reach for his holstered gun when she heard the door opening again. She had just gotten the butt in her hand when a third unknown assailant came in, shock registering at the sight before him just before he reached hurriedly for his gun.

Sam fired off before he could unholster, sending two shots into his chest, watching his body thrust from the force of the bullets before he slumped over to the floor. Shit, now bigboy would be coming and she was still pinned under the goon on the bed. She heaved and pushed him off her as she hurriedly searched his pocket for the key to her cuff. Shit, shit, shit!

Jason was frantic. He'd followed Spinelli's directions to Sam's SUV and found it parked outside a diner on the outskirts of town. The doors were open and her gear was still there, but no Sam. He had to find her. Shit, shit, shit!


	16. Chapter 16

No keys in the fool's pockets, great! Sam pushed the body away from her as she realized that bigboy must have the keys - he was the one who knocked her out and brought her to the room so he likely had cuffed her to the bed. Just as she thought about him who should come running in, gun drawn and pointed in her direction, but Sam was expecting him. Before he could do anything she fired at his head, but he was fast too, running back through the door, head down, pulling it shut behind him. Sam didn't waste any time going for the bobby pin in her ponytail again after laying the gun down on the bed by her side, glancing up anxiously at the door every few seconds as she started to work at the lock on the cuff. He started yelling as she worked herself free, "I hope you don't think you're getting out of here. You might as well put the gun down and give up peacefully before you get hurt."

A few seconds later the cuff fell open and away from her hand. Sam rubbed her wrist briefly then grabbed the gun as she sprung up from the bed. She picked up the extra clip that she'd tossed from the would-be rapist's pockets and went over to the one on the floor, checking his pockets too for more. Pocketing the clips, she started pacing the room, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Strangling a fool takes a lot of energy. Okay, there was at least one more and he was just outside the only exit from this dismal prison, so she would be walking right into harm's way if she went through the door now. Her pace slowed as she thought it through. She had to find a way to get him to enter the room. She realized that he had no way of knowing that she'd freed herself from the cuff, he had the keys after all, so he would eventually venture back in. She listened as he shouted for her to give up the gun and she decided on a game of cat and mouse. If they wanted to play she'd play.

Jason raced out of the diner, phone in hand and headed towards his SUV. The waitress had just confirmed that Sam was there the night before and had left on her own. She remembered her when she saw the photo on his phone because Sam had left her a generous tip, but she didn't see anyone follow her out the door or what happened to her afterwards. "Spinelli, anything?" He had previously instructed Spinelli to run through the camera footage from a gas station across the street from the diner, hopefully they could see who took Sam and which direction they went.

"Why, yes, Stonecold. My fingers were mid-dial when you rang. The trace on Fair Samantha's phone has proven fruitful, I was able to triangulate the pings from the towers near its last usage to a location you, as well as I know quite well. A location that will astound and befuddle you as much as I."

"Spit it out, Spinelli! Where was Sam?" He didn't mean to be short but the longer he took to find her the more his fear grew. If anything happened to her…

"Spoon Island! Our fair one's phone was last used at the abode of the dark prince!"

"That son of a bitch!"

Spinelli went on, "and the camera footage did indeed prove useful as well. It shows the fair one being cowardly attacked from behind and heaped into the back of a Lincoln that headed back to town."

Jason's SUV was in gear and already screeching through the parking lot, making a hard left in the direction of Port Charles. The bastard had touched her again. He'd have to kill him - he was given fair warning last time!

Sam moved back over to the bed and grabbed a pillow, then went and braced it against the mirror and punched it hard. The muffled crack of the glass couldn't be heard over bigboy's shouts for her to put the gun down and give up, which is exactly what she'd wanted. She ripped the case from the pillow, tossing the rest of it aside and used it to gingerly remove a large piece of the glass, going back over to the guy on the bed and eyeing him disgustingly. She was surprised to find that she was a little bit squeamish with what she was about to do, but then she remembered the lobster incident. The one time she'd tried to boil lobsters had turned out to be the only time she'd ever boil lobsters. She remembered how they had appeared dead in the container, hadn't even moved when she took them from it, but the minute she'd landed them in the boiling water, claws started moving and they started flailing around. She had never felt so bad about killing one of God's creatures as she had back then, but in this moment she remembered that as bad as she'd felt at putting live creatures in boiling water, it hadn't been enough to deter her from enjoying their juicy, garlicy meat afterwards. Remembering that, she knelt down on the bed and set about her gruesome task.

Lifting one dead wrist in her hand, Sam used the glass to slit it wide open, allowing the blood to soil her shirt and neck as she grimaced the entire time. Yuuuuuuuuck! She got the blood all over her, then laid his wrist down so the rest could seep out onto the bed. She then took the gun and removed the half used clip then loaded a fresh one, before moving to grab the second gun from the guy on the floor. She emptied the clip from that one but left the bullet in the chamber then went to lay back down, the first loaded gun masked under the discarded pillowcase near her right hand. Sam grabbed the cuff and placed it back around her left wrist unlocked, then fired off the single remaining bullet from the gun in her hand, screaming as though in pain as soon as it went off, before she started moaning as loud as she could.

Less than a minute later the door flew open and bigboy yelled, "I'm coming in blazing unless you toss it, let me hear you toss that fucking gun, right now!" Sam threw the empty gun to the floor by the bed and moaned for good measure, her lids down as though closed as she watched him cautiously enter the room and catch sight of her laying bloodied on the bed. Just as she'd hoped, the sight made him over confident. "Well, well, well - somebody got sloppy didn't she?" He kept mocking as he neared her, "what kinda moron shoots herself, let me guess, trying to shoot your way out of the cuff and it ricocheted off the wall didn't it?" He sounded pleased with his deduction.

"I need help. Please, help me." Sam made her voice sound as pathetic as she could, channeling the nurse to help her pull that off. "Please."

He was jeering. "Please, please…now it's please? You killed two of my best guys lady, give me one good reason why I shouldn't just let you lay there and bleed to death?"

"Because you'd be waiting all day, _BITCH_!" Sam had grabbed the gun from under the pillowcase before he reached the foot of the bed and was firing before he could raise his hand. Three bullets at close range had him down in no time, and just as quickly she was off the bed and out the door, scanning the outer room for any surprises. Not seeing anybody else she ran towards the first door to her right and found it locked. There was another one to her left so she tried that one too, cautiously turning the handle and swinging it outward, but that turned out to be an empty bathroom. Okay, door number one it must be then. She went back to the first door and knelt down to study the lock…Sam Morgan had yet to meet a lock she couldn't pick. She ran back to search bigboy and sure enough, he had not only her knife from her boot, but also her picking kit from her back pocket. She thought about how they must have groped her when they searched her unconscious form and she straightened up and kicked his body really hard. Assholes!

He also had a bunch of keys, but Sam wasn't about to try and figure them out, so she went back to the door, banking on the skills that she knew. Just as she knelt down to go to work, she heard voices coming from the outside, several voices. Shit, he must have called in reinforcement. Then the voices got chaotic as suddenly there were more voices over radios, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Sam listened as hurried footsteps took the voices further and further away and she went back to picking her way out the door. When it eased open she was surprised to find herself in a tunnel. A tiny light was peaking at the far, far bend as though from around a corner. Where the hell was she? With renewed determination, Sam decided to get the fuck out of dodge and ask questions later. She didn't know what she'd find at the end of that tunnel but what was behind her was not an alternative, so once more she unclipped the gun to check the bullets then clipped it back in place before she started moving cautiously towards the light. She was going home to her son, one way or the other.

Sam made it through the tunnel without encountering anyone, creeping towards the light with caution, keeping her ears strained for the tiniest sound. One very distinct sound that she recognized was gunfire, before and after what sounded like an explosion and men yelling out orders. What the hell was going on around her? She snuck outside of the tunnel, making sure to press up immediately against it and back her way along the perimeter, her gun ready for any sudden appearances. That was when she looked towards the shoreline and realized that she as at the back end of Spoon Island. Nicholas had kidnapped her and brought her to the castle? The balls he'd grown lately! She still didn't know what the commotion was about or whether it was being wreaked by friend or foe, so extreme caution was still the name of the game. She was inclined to help whoever it was, given that her cousin had proclaimed himself her enemy, and as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

She needed a boat and fast. Problem was, she would have to leave the cover of the wall and make a mad dash to the pier and she couldn't be sure they'd be too busy fending off the attack to notice her. Just then rapid gunfire seemed to come from her immediate vicinity, so thinking she'd been spotted, she turned to shoot and saw that she had, but her bullets weren't needed. Jason had come out of nowhere and was dropping them like flies, two who had snuck up behind her and another one who had just turned the corner and was heading towards the chaos was caught off guard by Jason's bullets. Sam couldn't contain the sense of reassurance. She had absolutely no doubt that she could make it out of there and home to her son, but Jason Morgan was always the best backup. She'd never felt safer than when he was there and it had been that way from day one. "Jason!"

His relief was insurmountable. She was standing right before him and he had never wanted to hug someone so much in his entire life, until he noticed the blood and his heart crashed to the ground. "You're hurt! Where are you hurt?" He was going to obliterate them all for touching her!

"What?" Sam looked down at her shirt to see what he was looking so frantically at…was she running on adrenaline with a bullet in her? Then she saw all the blood and realized what made him panic. "No, no - it's not my blood. I'm fine, it's a long story."

He felt the relief hit him again and he wanted to sweep her into his arms and hold her close, but he needed to get her out of there first.

Sam didn't miss the relief that swept over him. "Who's with you?"

He was looking around them warily, gun at the ready for any sudden popups. "Nobody, we're on our own."

"Where's your boat - we need to get the hell outta here?"

He was shaking his head. "There's a gang of them near the pier. We need to find cover and wait them out."

Sam shrugged her shoulders as she took another look behind her and turned back to face him, "fine by me - I have some unfinished business inside."

Jason read her eyes and knew she wanted Nicholas even more than he did and he couldn't blame her. As much as he wanted to strangle the prince with his bare hands for what he did to her, she was the one with the bigger axe to grind, so he couldn't begrudge her pound of flesh. He simply nodded and indicated towards her left where a small path led to a door into the castle. The door was unlocked and once inside they found themselves in a small corridor that led to the kitchen. There was no-one to stop them as they ventured through the kitchen towards the front of the structure where they planned to check the study first - it seemed to be the prince's favorite room to be in. Sam led the way, practically tiptoeing to keep her stiletto boots from giving away their presence when upon hearing voices coming from the library, they changed course and moved towards that room. Jason came to a stop just behind Sam outside the door and they both strained to hear what was being said as they made out Nicholas' voice sounding rattled and stressed, followed by another voice they didn't recognize.

"What do you mean she escaped? An army of grown men with guns couldn't handle one tiny, unarmed woman? How incompetent are you people?"

"She got the drop on Stevens, sir, took his gun and was able to take out Martins and Craven after that." The voice sounded almost admiring. Jason couldn't stop the tiny curl of his lips as he pictured Sam picking them off one at a time. He was surging with pride, until his anger at her being taken swallowed him up again.

"And now you have no idea where she is? For God's sakes you're on an island - how far could she have gotten that a _platoon_ can't find her? FIND HER, NOW!"

Sam half grinned to herself hearing how mad he was. He wasn't the first fool to underestimate her and he wouldn't be the last one either.

"Yes, sir!"

They took cover in the adjoining alcove as the henchman exited the door and hurried out the front, barking orders over a radio as he went. Then they went back to the door and listened but heard no sound. Sam eased the door open a crack and saw him…his back was turned towards them and he was standing in front of the fireplace with his hands stuffed in his pockets, his head bent and shoulders sagging as though laden with burden, as he gazed into the flames. Sam moved to stand inside the door while Jason closed it behind them and leant against it, both watching the prince without saying a word. As if sensing he was no longer alone, his head and shoulders lifted but he did not turn.

"You're quite the resourceful one, aren't you, cousin?"

Sam was seething. It was all she could do not to plug him where he stood, "and you're quite the fuckup, aren't you, _prince_?"

He turned to face them then, surprise registering at seeing Jason there too. "Ah, I should've known - where there's one there's bound to be the other."

"Yet, you thought you could keep my husband away from me, from my son."

Nicholas raised and waved a hand in frustration, "oh, not that song and dance again!"

Sam wanted to shoot him again - he actually had the nerve to appear annoyed at the mention of his gross misdeed. She moved towards him in disbelief. "Song and dance? You blithering idiot, you tried to keep true love apart, something you've obviously lost sight of since Emily died, and then you have the balls to send men to rape me, and what else, Nicholas? Were they supposed to kill me when they were done using my body at your command?" She _really_ wanted to shoot him.

Jason practically leapt off the door where he had been lounging and listening for any movement on the outside. "He did what? They touched you?" His gun was already raised at Nicholas' head when Sam turned to the sound of his voice. She had to spring into action, quickly grabbing his outstretched arm to skew his aim away from the prince, knowing she had but a second before he pulled the trigger.

"It's okay, Jason, the first one died trying." When he didn't immediately lower his arm she continued, "he's mine, Jason." She wasn't sure she could get through to him as his icy gaze was still locked on the prince, but then he slowly put his arm down and went back to guarding the door.

Nicholas would never admit it to them but he thought he'd seen his maker in those few moments. He composed himself as he addressed Sam, his eyes never leaving the enforcer for more than seconds at a time. "Don't be so uncouth, cousin. Of course I didn't instruct my men to do anything so vile. I merely wanted you to see reason and since I couldn't get you to listen to me elsewhere, I thought a long overdue stay at the castle would make it easier for us to talk." He walked over to the bar and poured himself a brandy, holding the glass up to offer her one, then shrugging his shoulders when her cold stare was all the response he received. He took a swig of the burning amber liquid and turned back to the music. "I apologize if they were less than polite in your presence."

That was it for Sam, she was done with him making light of everything he did to her and her family. In one swoop she laid her gun down on the table next to her and moved to him so rapidly he hardly had time to register the right fist that hit his nose with such force that it staggered him into the bar, sending glass crashing to the ground. At the sound, Jason quickly opened the door and checked the hallway for moving bodies. Not seeing anyone he eased back in and closed the door, turning to see Sam's left fist connect with the prince's face, just before she bent to the left and sent her right foot up and out, guiding her boot straight into his gut. He was on his knees in the next moment with Sam yelling for him to get up and face her.

Nicholas leaned his head back and held his nose, his teeth glistening with the blood running down, as he grinned up at his cousin. "You know neither of you will leave this island alive, right? You might as well give up now, make it easier on yourselves." He moved his hand from his nose and looked at the blood dripping through his fingers then laughed up at Sam, "you do know that you're dead, right?"

Sam grabbed her gun from the table and placed the barrel smack up on his forehead, pressing hard so it would leave a mark, then holding it in place, she knelt down in front of him menacingly cocking the gun and looking him in the eye. A full five seconds later she lowered the gun and said with disgust, "I'm not going to kill you, Nicholas - not when there are fates a million times worse than death, and nobody deserves one more." She held her hands up to his face, "these are the hands I use to hold my baby, to hug my mother… _your_ aunt. I will not use them to take your life, the life of Spencer's father." Her contempt was more than evident. "As deserving as you are in this very moment, I will not use my hands to kill my own…because you were once a good cousin to me."

She rose to her feet, instantly taking away his moment of relief by adding "but they will be the hands that send your sorry ass to prison, make no mistake about that." She backed a few steps and looked incredulously at him, "what do you think would have happened if something happened to me? You think all the evidence I have against you would've just magically vanished? You really think I wasn't smart enough to put up safeguards against your petty retaliations?"

He looked at her as if it hadn't even occurred to him. Rising slowly to his feet, he eyed Jason as he moved away from the door, his gun once again trained on the prince's head.

"Sam won't kill you but I have no such qualms. You've been hurting my family for quite some time now and it ends here! Today! Pickup that phone and call your men off, or I'll put a bullet in your brain and we'll shoot our way off this forsaken, cursed piece of shit island you call a home." When he hesitated Jason cocked the gun, "pick up the fucking phone right now!"

Nicholas reached for the receiver but before he could pick it up the door burst open and five men trooped into the room, instantly flanking Jason and Sam with automatic weapons aimed at them. In that same instant, as if by instinct, Jason and Sam were back to back, bracing up against each other as their weapons took aim at the newcomers. It was a standoff, and outnumbered or not, backing down was not an option. These bitches were about to learn what it meant to take on Port Charles' Bonnie and Clyde.


	17. Chapter 17

"Sam, put the recordings in my possession and I'll allow you to leave. Danny should have at least one parent, after all." Any faith that Nicholas had lost in his recent predicament seemed to have reappeared with the arrival of his armed men. Sauntering in front of his cousin impudently, he tried to goad her into submission. "I don't want to have to explain to my aunt how you broke into my home and got yourself killed before my men realized that you were my cousin."

Sam wasn't paying any attention to the idiot. She was in a pickle but she knew that there was no-one better she'd want by her side, or at her back for that matter, in this particular situation…Jason Morgan could take all five with his eyes closed. But she wasn't about to let Jason alone have all the fun.

Jason had had enough. He was grumpy from no sleep, his wife had been kidnapped and manhandled, and her prince of a cousin who was behind it all now had these fools pointing guns at her and threatening to take her life. Their lives had been one roller coaster ride after another for months on end and it was time for his family to get a minute to breathe. He looked at each of the men surrounding them, calculating the distance between each one, and judging the trajectory that the bullet would need to take to connect. He just had to find a way to signal Sam to drop to the floor at the precise moment he took the first shot.

Using his left hand that was hanging at his side, Jason stealthily grazed her thigh to get her attention, then used his forefinger to trail downward slowly. Turning his head to the side, he caught the slightest nod of hers indicating that she understood. Leaving his hand in place he waited another couple seconds then he tapped her thigh rapidly and while Nicholas was droning on with unheeded threats, Sam dropped to the floor suddenly, her gun blasting a hole in the kneecap of the gunman directly in front of her, his gun firing errantly as he fell, as she followed up with a second bullet to the head the instant he came down on one knee. In that same moment Jason had fired at the head of the one directly in front of him, leaping to his left and firing rapidly as he flew through the air, taking out two more before he'd landed on the floor and scooted behind the heavy bookcase, bullets raining in his direction from the remaining gunman. Sam had taken up a similar position behind the shelf to her right, and as he concentrated on emptying his gun at Jason, Sam eased out and emptied her clip in the last gunman's chest.

The room was filled with smoke and the smell of hot steel and blood, and as Sam looked around at the bodies laying around them, she was happy to see Jason get up too. They both turned their attention to the stunned prince who had managed to take cover when the hailstorm of bullets started flying, as he removed his hands that were covering his head and noticed Sam coming for him where he'd cowered in the far corner of the room behind an ornate antique chair. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed a fallen handgun from the floor and took aim at Sam as she came at him. She still held the glock, but he knew it was useless, he'd heard the clicking of the empty chamber when she'd kept trying to shoot at the last target.

Jason rose to his feet and looked to Sam through the haze, catching sight of her as she walked towards the prince with renewed murder in her eyes. As though in slow motion he saw the man reach for the gun and take aim, saw the bitter glare in his eyes as he looked at Sam with deadly intent, and in an instant that felt like his heart stopped and his feet would not move as fast as his brain commanded, Jason was flying across the space between them to grab her and spin her around behind him. They both fell to the floor as Jason whipped his gun from underneath him and fired at the prince, hitting him square in the chest. The force of the bullet sent him spiraling backward into the chair and it went crashing into the corner.

"Drop your weapon! Don't move!" Sam looked over towards the open door to see police rushing in with guns drawn, aimed in all directions. She turned her palm upward as she gently placed the empty gun down on the floor and pushed it away from her, as she felt Jason relax back onto the floor beside her. "Sam! Jason!" Dante Falconari came over to them and removed the gun from Jason's hand, his own gun drawn but not pointed. "What happened here?"

Sam heard Dante but she wasn't listening. She had looked over to Jason and saw that he was barely conscious, his normally healthy skin starting to look ashen as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "Jason! Oh, my God, Jason!" That's when she noticed the blood gushing from his shoulder. Putting her hands on the wound and pressing hard she turned to Dante and yelled, "Get the paramedics, Dante! Now!"

Dante didn't need to do anything as the medics were already headed their way, one stopped to help them while another went over to Nicholas. Two others finished checking the gunmen and declared no pulse detected. The paramedic checking Nicholas shouted out to the others, "over here! There's a pulse…it's thready but it's there."

"Sam, tell me what happened." Dante was pulling at her arm trying to lead her away as the medics worked on stabilizing Jason.

"What does it look like, Dante? Armed men tried to kill us on my cousin's orders and Jason and I defended ourselves." She looked at him curiously for a second, tearing worried eyes away from Jason as she asked, "what are you doing here anyway, who called the police?"

"Boaters on the water called in an explosion on the island. The first responding patrol reported hearing gunfire and called for backup. What brought you here, Sam, and what went down?"

She was moving back to Jason as the Paramedics loaded him unto a stretcher to roll him out. Sam grabbed hold of his hand and started moving with them. "I'm coming with my husband!"

"Sam, I can't let you leave before I get your statement." Dante knew it was useless but he tried to do his job.

"Really, Dante?" She spun on him hurriedly, "because you're going to have to arrest me - I'm going with Jason!"

Dante shook his head and waved his arm dejectedly towards the floor as she hurried out with the medics, whispering under his breath, "you're not even married anymore." He knew he'd have to get her statement on the mainland because he was going to be unable to pry her away from Jason Morgan. He was more than a little bit aware of how those two closed ranks around each other in protection of the other.

Three hours later Sam was giving Dante her statement in the waiting room at GH, anxiously pacing while she told him all about Nicholas' visit to her office and his threats, her kidnapping that he orchestrated, and the events leading up to the scene in the library. Jason had been in surgery for a couple hours and she was biting her nails waiting for word on the outcome. He'd lost a lot of blood and was in and out of consciousness on the ride to the hospital, but Robin had told her when they wheeled him in that they had reasons to be optimistic. Sam knew that was true - Jason was strong and resilient - he'd fight his way out of this too. She just wasn't so sure that one of these days his body just wouldn't be able to fight anymore. How many times can one person get shot before it becomes the last time? No, Sam - don't you dare! You don't think like that, not ever! She scolded herself mentally as she continued her statement to the detective. "I'll get you the tape of his visit to my office, Dante. This time it shouldn't matter how many judges the Cassadines have on payroll or how brilliant his team of lawyers, there's enough evidence to hold Nicholas on attempted murder, kidnapping, assault and battery, and coercion."

"That's if he makes it out of surgery, it's pretty touch and go from what the doctors say. So you'll press charges and testify at trial?"

"Damn right I'm pressing charges against that son-of-a-bitch!" She looked at his worried expression and softened the tiniest bit. "Look, I know that he's your wife's brother and you don't want this to touch her, but he is my cousin too and look what he did to me! Face it Dante, the dark side has claimed Nicholas and turned him into just another crazy Cassadine, and the sooner Lulu faces that the better off she'll be." She was done thinking about Nicholas. "If we're finished here I need to go see about Jason." She was already walking away from him looking for a nurse to get an update. Dante tapped his Ipad and watched her leave, "sure, just stop by the station…", he trailed off when it was obvious that she had stopped listening.

It was another two hours before Robin came out to tell Sam that Jason was out of surgery and everything had gone well. They were concerned with the mobility of his arm and would need to wait and see his dexterity but they were hoping that therapy would get him back on track. They had no reason to believe that it wouldn't but had to wait and see to say for sure. Sam was able to finally release the breath she had been holding since the moment she saw the blood gushing from him, and as she breathed deeply, Carly grabbed hold of her and held on. The two hugged tightly as they both shed silent tears that expressed and released their unspoken concerns, both holding it in so as not to alarm the other. Sam shook her head at how similar she and Carly had turned out to be, remembering what bitter enemies they both were at the start.

"I need to go see my son, you're sure he was okay when you left him at my mom's, Carly?"

Carly wiped the telltale tears from her cheeks as she smiled and sniffled, "he's fine, I swear. When you called, I told him I was on my way to go pick you up from your trip and he wanted me to give you a big hug and tell you to hurry home. Now, go clean up and go see him before you make a liar outta me." She sniffled again as Sam chuckled. "Okay, I'll just peak in on Jason before I go. Thanks, Carly."

He looked so peaceful, as if he was just resting, and if it wasn't for the bandages and the very pale hue of his skin Sam would've never guessed that he was sporting a fresh gunshot wound. She stood at the door for a second before she moved tentatively closer to the bed, admiring his handsomely rugged face, and then almost as if of its own accord, her hand reached out and softly brushed his cheek. His face was very different from her Jason's face, his original reaction to her had been very different from her Jason's, but his actions today had definitely been all her Jason Morgan. He'd been fearless and protective, unselfish and giving, fierce and unrelenting. He'd protected her with his life and he'd been there when she needed help.

His face moved softly against her hand and then his eyes slowly opened and looked at her lovingly. "Sam." He smiled at seeing her, "are you okay?"

Sam chuckled through her unshed tears. "I should be asking you that. You're the one laying here with a bullet in you, _again_."

He smiled for a second time and closed his eyes as he said, "I just woke up to your beautiful face, I'm perfect."

"Flatterer." She was suddenly self conscious of the villain's blood still on her neck because even though she had changed her shirt for some scrubs that Robin gave her earlier, she hadn't had time to wash the gore off her.

He opened his eyes again and looked at her worriedly now. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She stroked his face again. "Shh…close your eyes, get some sleep."

He was still looking at her adoringly, "I can't…I just want to look at you."

She could't stop the stupid tears from multiplying, remembering the last time he'd said that to her when he'd been lying in a hospital bed and she told him to close his eyes. He was definitely acting like her Jason again. More tears.

"Please don't cry. I'll be fine, I promise." He tried to sit up to prove it but grimaced at the pain induced from jostling his shoulder.

"Jason Morgan, you stop that!" As if she wasn't enough of a mess, he was trying to give her a heart attack too. "The doctors want you to stay still and stay in that bed, no arguments."

He eased back down in surrender to the pain. "I'll make a deal with you. I'll stay in this bed if you promise to go home and get some sleep. You've been through a hell of an ordeal and now you're here watching over me." He loved the way she cared. She'd always been like that. How could his stupid heart had ever forgotten her? "I'll rest if you go home and rest."

She smiled softly. "I was just leaving. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't gone and gotten yourself killed."

He chuckled at her. Leave it to Sam to make him laugh, even at death's door. He watched her move to leave and he could't stop himself. "I love you, Sam." She stopped at his soft proclamation, stood there in her spot for what seemed like hours, before she kept moving out the door without looking back. He missed her the second she left the room, wanted her to come back the moment she was gone, but he knew that he had done so much damage to their relationship that his struggle to win her back had only just begun.

Sam left Jason's room and her nerves were in a jumble. Her breath stopped when he said those three words to her, and she was thrown by how much she wanted to believe that they were true. Her heart rejoiced and wanted to believe, but her head was screaming for her to be smart. You believed him before, it cried, more than once before, and his actions said otherwise. But what of his actions today, her heart fought back, her head winning out by telling her to be smart and keep her guard up. She practically ran from the hospital room, stopping outside the door to take deep cleansing breaths to get her braincells functioning again, then continued on towards the elevator.

"Sam." She heard her name and turned her head to the waiting room to see Lulu Falconari jump up from her chair to approach her, Laura Spencer following suit. Dante was with them, and he looked at Sam resignedly, as though to apologize before the conversation even began. Lulu stopped in front of Sam just outside the waiting room, and Laura walked up and put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. "Sam, what happened on Spoon Island? How could you let Jason do this to my brother?"

Sam turned to fully face the blonde woman with the fiery questions, her head cocking to the side slightly as if trying to help her sleep deprived brain process them in the less than accusatory tone that they were asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Nicholas is in surgery fighting for his life. What happened to him? What did Jason do to my son?" Laura Spencer picked up where her daughter had left off.

Sam looked from one to the other then over to Dante who was hanging back as if to stay out of it. Sam supposed she couldn't really blame him. He was in the doghouse with his wife - it happens when you sleep with her cousin - so he probably didn't want to ruffle too many feathers. He also couldn't openly discuss an ongoing investigation, even with loved ones, so Sam was happy to clue them in. She closed her eyes and lifted her head towards the heavens as though to pray for strength. "I'm going to make this the very last time I speak to any of you about Nicholas, so hear me _clearly_." She clasped her fists and took a deep, calming breath before she continued, staring Laura Spencer directly in the eye. "You're a mother and a grandmother, and to protect _your_ son you knowingly allowed him to keep _my_ son away from his father by holding my husband's identity a secret from everyone except you, Lucky, and Elizabeth Webber, who you knew was essentially raping a clueless, amnesiac man, for months!"

Laura Spencer took a step back as if Sam had openhandedly slapped the bejesus out of her, but Sam wasn't finished. "You knew that he had hired someone to _kill_ Hayden Barnes, _to take an innocent life_ , and still you kept quiet and protected him. Maybe if you hadn't done that, maybe if you had exorcised an ounce of integrity and good common decency, he wouldn't have gone as far as he did for money, wouldn't have had me kidnapped and instructed a gang of men to rape and kill me, maybe he wouldn't have attempted to finish me himself when he saw that they had failed." She looked from one to the other angrily, "if either of you had opened your eyes and not pretended to not see that he was barreling down the same dark path that Helena had lain out for him for years, then maybe my son's father wouldn't have almost been killed _again_ , maybe my son wouldn't have lost out on months with him and Spencer wouldn't be about to miss out on years with his!" She looked at Lulu and answered her question. "Jason shot your brother to save my life and I know that you'd prefer that Nicholas was the one standing here instead of me, but I happen to appreciate the fact that my son will not be growing up an orphan because of your brother's greed, and I swear to Jesus…" She paused for emphasis and rolled her eyes to the heavens before looking back at the women, "if either of you accost Jason with your hostile accusations you will have to deal with me!" She glared hotly at them, leaving them both speechless and went on her way, not looking back to see that they stood there watching her the whole time as she waited for the elevator, their mouths not closing until she had disappeared from view.

Jason spent the next two weeks cooped up in the hospital and finally the doctors released him just to stop him from driving everyone crazy. He'd started physical therapy on his arm and shoulder and they were very optimistic as he hadn't lost any feeling or muscle mass that would require extensive therapy or more surgery. During that time Sam had brought Danny to see him and his mom had brought Jake. Monica had informed Jason that Elizabeth was out on bond, thanks to Nicholas' attorneys, and that she had been keeping to her therapy with Dr. Collins in an effort to convince the court that she had suffered some kind of mental lapse that forced a break from reality and caused her to turn a blind eye to the things happening around her. He learned that her lawyers were planning to plead temporary insanity, in order to try and get her a light sentence that would be served in an outpatient facility with treatment for mental incapacities. Although gravely disappointed in the justice system once again, Jason admitted to his mom that Elizabeth was the last thing on his mind.

Despite what they'd been through and the extent to which he'd tried to show his love for her, Sam had continued to keep her distance, emotionally. She had brought Danny to see him every day while he was in the hospital and had even accompanied them on a trip to Kelly's after his release, but she had not relented to spend time alone with him and had buried herself in work once again. This afternoon he was waiting outside Kevin's office for the doctor to wrap up with the patient ahead of him and his eyes kept darting anxiously to the door, hoping that Sam would walk through them any minute. He had extended the invitation once again for her to join him in a session and she hadn't said no, but she had been reluctant to commit to a date. He'd asked her again that very morning and she had said she'd try. It wasn't a commitment but at least this time she said she'd try.

As Jason waited and his anxiety grew, the inner office door opened and who should exit but Elizabeth Webber. Jason was surprised to see her but she wasn't the least bit surprised to see him. She remembered what time his appointments were and she had gotten Nicholas' attorneys to deliberately wrangle the time each week that would make her appointments just before Jason's in an effort to run into him accidentally on purpose. The last two weeks had been a bust, and she found out it was because he was shot and holed up in a different wing of the hospital, so she was ecstatic to see that her patience had finally paid off today. She looked at him and thought how good he looked, even as he moved when he saw her heading towards him seated on the couch. He tried to join Kevin at the inner office door.

"Jason, I'm sorry, I need just a few minutes if you don't mind," the doctor was apologetic but he needed to return an urgent phone call before Jason's session. He looked out at the empty chairs behind Jason. "Will Sam be joining us today?"

Before Jason could reply the receptionist reminded Kevin of his call on hold. He excused himself and went back in, as Jason moved over to the window to look down at the parking lot, hoping to see Sam pull up outside. Elizabeth came up behind him softly.

"How've you been Jason? I heard about what happened on Spoon Island, I'm sorry that happened to you." Her voice was timid and apologetic and Jason thought of all the times that he fell for it. He turned away from the window to look at her closely.

She was trying to look innocent but all he saw was conniving and deceitfulness. It poured off her in droves and he couldn't understand how he had been so blinded by her for so long. He ignored her question because he had one of his own. "I'm looking at you right now and I don't see a damn thing that's special about you." Her face fell and she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Jason continued, "I'm not even trying to be mean, I just want to understand what it was about the pretentious, self-absorbed person you are that blinded me for so long that I allowed you to continually hurt and harass my wife without me doing anything about it."

"You don't need to be cruel Jason." Her voice was shaky and diminutive. "You and I have been friends for years, until you allowed Sam to come between us."

He shook his head disagreeably, "you see, that's just it. Sam never once asked me to not be friends with you or anybody else. She always, always encouraged me to be myself and she always respected the fact that other people were in my life before I knew her. She was never threatened by you or anyone, not until I slept with you with a defective condom and unleashed you on our lives." He started walking around her, stalkingly looking her over, "you're not better looking than her, my God she's exotically gorgeous! You're not a better person than her, she's kind, and sincere, and resourceful…smart as a whip, and she comes through in a crisis like nobody I've ever known. She's earnest and loving and she's a dynamite mother and wife, something I always knew she'd be…I wanted to start a family with her from before she lost baby Lila and I'd always, always wanted that." He couldn't stop himself, even when he saw how she turned white and looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

"I'm serious, Elizabeth, help me out here - what was it about you that blinded me so much that I completely fucked up the best thing that I had in my life? I honestly can't see it and I know that I'm not completely stupid because of the brain damage - Sam convinced me of that years ago when others tried to tell me different."

He stopped for a second as he recalled Sam's impassioned words that stormy night: _I don't care what a bunch of self-important doctors say, I don't even care how you feel deep down inside, because when I look at you I do not see damage of any kind. I see an extraordinary human being who feels as profoundly as anyone I have ever known. I experience your capacity for love every single day of my life. I saw it in your eyes and I felt it in your touch when that baby that we wanted so badly was inside of me, and I saw your grief when we lost her, and it mirrored mine, and so did your healing. So do not, do not talk to me about a bunch of doctors who do not know you say about your inability to love, because I know better._

"That woman stroked my ego and walked with me through some of the ugliest shit in my life and I fucked her over because you got pregnant, and I don't even understand why I slept with you in the first place. She was always everything I ever wanted…the queen in my home and the rider by my side. She rocked my world and I nearly destroyed hers, for you. And now I've allowed you to come between us, _again_! _Why_?"

She started sobbing and Jason realized he was being harsh. He sighed and turned away from her, "it wasn't even about you. I thought having a child with someone else meant I didn't get to have the love of my life, I needed to selflessly let her go and commit myself to you, for Jake." Sadness was squeezing at his heart when he thought of all he'd put Sam through. "Go away, Elizabeth. I have nothing to offer you, and I never will again. We were friends once, you're right about that. You saved my life and I felt like I forever owed you for that, but I think I can now consider that debt paid and then some. We share a son biologically and I will always be there for him, but not you. Go away, and leave us alone."

She burst into tears and fled the waiting area, running away from the receptionist's shocked look of pity as she had heard every ugly word that was said, and as Elizabeth fled she ran into Samantha Morgan who had been standing just outside the door and had obviously also heard it all. Elizabeth's humiliation grew even larger and she fled full blast to the stairs, bawling her big doe eyes out, not paying attention to her footfalls and missing one of the very first stairs causing her to tumble down the concrete blocks. Over and over and over she went, till her broken and bloodied body laid in a heap at the bottom.

Sam walked through the door to the waiting area and looked at Jason, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt like she actually _saw_ him. He was still standing with his back to the door, looking out the window as though watching and waiting. For her, maybe? Just then Kevin opened the inner door and came out calling Jason's name and as he turned to follow the doctor he caught sight of the woman he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. "You came!" He looked at her, hope filling his heart and love pouring from his soul through his eyes.

Sam smiled shyly as she walked ahead of the men into the office. She knew there was a grueling hour ahead of her, but felt it was important for the healing of her relationship with her child's father, and more importantly for her own spirit, that she did this. It was best that the deepest hurt be gotten out in the open and dealt with once and for all.

Kevin wanted to start from the very beginning of their relationship so they could remember the foundation that they built from, then he would have them go into where they thought the most painful struggles lay, and identify the root cause of those struggles. As they dug deep and really brought everything to the surface, Jason cringed when it became glaringly obvious to everyone in the room that the one defining constant to the pain inflicted on their relationship wasn't the delusional Nurse Nutcase as first thought, but the man himself. It was one very painful hour indeed for Jason Morgan.


	18. Chapter 18

"Sam, I'm very happy you could join us, Jason has been looking forward to sharing this experience with you, and it is my belief that you can each benefit from a candid discussion with a neutral mediator so, welcome." Dr. Collins was very familiar with how uncomfortable couple's counseling could be for some people, those who felt pressured in any way and especially people like Sam or Jason who didn't relish discussing their feelings. He felt it was important to put Sam at ease. It also did not go unnoticed that she took the extreme opposite end of the couch facing him, as far away from Jason as she could get in the room. This couple had some really deep issues indeed.

Kevin continued, "So, Jason has told me a bit about your relationship and I think I have a lot of your foundation history, but why don't you tell me a little about how you and Jason fell in love? It's always interesting to compare the two different views about the same situation."

Sam ventured a look in Jason's direction on the couch next to her. He looked quite uncomfortable as he appeared to dry a sweaty palm on the knee of his jeans, not taking his eyes off her. She looked back towards the doctor, "It was a really long time ago. Jason took me in when I had nowhere else to go. I was pregnant with someone else's child but he took very good care of us and didn't ask a thing from me in return." Her voice got lower, "We spent months dallying around each other until one day I realized that…that I loved him." She looked at him again, the sling on one hand looking so out of place on him, "Jason is a very good man. He's kind and loving and he's extremely gentle - most people don't know that about him, but he's the most gentle man I've ever known in my life."

Kevin didn't miss the way their eyes locked when she spoke.

"You make it easy, Sam. You're real easy to love."

She looked away and down at her hands in her lap. "Love has never been the problem between us, Jason."

That last statement got Kevin's attention. "Sam, what would you say is the fundamental thing that is missing from your relationship with Jason, meaning, what is the one thing that you think is important, but you don't get from him?"

There was no hesitation in her reply, "Respect."

Jason was taken aback. "You don't think that I respect you? Sam, I respect you." His pleas said he needed to make her hear the sincerity in his words, "I do respect you."

Kevin was asking Sam, "You obviously don't agree. Would you like to share an instant where you feel like Jason did not show you the requisite respect? Maybe a recent incident?"

Sam looked down at her hands, her fingernails suddenly the most intriguing things in the world. Her voice was low and almost inaudible, "Our divorce comes to mind."

"Okay, Sam. Why don't you turn to Jason and tell him how it made you feel and why?"

Sam rolled her eyes at being shrunk but still, she looked up at Jason and she could see the pain in his blue eyes as he listened and seemed to brace himself for the worse. "The ink hadn't even dried on our divorce papers before you married someone else. It was disrespectful, Jason. I didn't expect you to wait indefinitely to go on with your life but you didn't even pause to consider my feelings. You had been my husband, the love of my life, and you married the woman who hates me more than anything, two seconds after our divorce was final." Her brown eyes relayed the pain that was breaking her heart. "The amnesia just picked up where the old you left off - always her white knight, and as usual my feelings never mattered when hers were in play."

"Sam, no." Jason wanted to go to her but knew she'd push him away. "No, that's not it at all! _You_ filed for the divorce, Sam, remember? I thought it was what you wanted, that you wanted no part of me because I couldn't remember us. Then you left on your trip and I thought it was your way of telling me that you'd put us behind you, that you'd put us to rest when I couldn't remember anything. I honestly didn't think you'd care what I did after that, that's why when she made her plans I just went along with it. I swear I respect you, Sam! Don't you think I see how strong and loyal you are, how fiercely protective of the people you love? You're independent and secure, and you're feisty as hell. You're the mother of my son and you've been to hell and back, with and without me, and still - look at you! I promise that I respect you so damn much!"

"I may have filed, Jason, but you asked for the divorce in the first place." She started twisting her fingers again. "You don't think there's a reason that when you came back you didn't fall in love with me, but with the woman who'd chased after you for years, who'd given you your firstborn and who you've left me for before? You remembered _her_ son's name, you remembered _her_ name. Doesn't that tell you that she's who's in your heart?"

Jason turned his body on the couch so he could face her. He hated the stupid sling that kept limiting his motions and getting in his way of reaching her. He wanted to touch her so badly, to hold onto her and make her hear him. He hadn't realized that she still carried around all the old wounds that he had so unwittingly inflected on the one person in the world he would die before he purposely hurt. "Sam, please look at me." He waited until she sighed, then turned to face him on the couch, her beautiful brown eyes looking so sad, yet strong as she faced him head-on. He would get through to her today or die trying.

"I spent a great deal of time with Elizabeth when I was Jake Doe. She was the nurse on my case, Sam, and after my accident she was always at the hospital, always checking on me. I developed feelings for her, yes, but it wasn't because of any underlying or latent emotions from our past." He got emphatic so she would hear and understand every word, "the minute I saw you I had the strongest reaction I'd had since I woke up. I felt like I knew you! But my brain wouldn't remember, and then I found out that you were seeing someone, so yes, I went with Elizabeth because she was free and she was there all the time." He hung his head for a second to look at the couch seat. "I don't know why my first memory was Jake and Elizabeth and not you or Danny, but I _know_ it's not because I love anyone more than you…because that's not even possible, Sam."

Kevin cleared his throat to get their attention. He hated to interrupt when they are engaging so well but he felt he needed to interject at that point, so when they both looked over at him he added his interpretation. "I think I can help clarify that last part a bit. You see, Jason you went through the most traumatic thing a parent could go through when you thought you'd lost a child, and you and Elizabeth had shared something earth shattering with the loss of that little boy. When you were first brought in your head was hurt and your brain was actively disintegrating right there as you were being worked on, but you had not yet lost all cognitive use, so when you saw Elizabeth your brain registered the familiar sound of her voice and landed on the most poignant thing that you had shared together as your way of recognizing her. Jake's name came to mind when your brain put the broken pieces together in that instant, categorizing Jake and Elizabeth, so to speak. There's really no way to say that had Sam been the one who had appeared before you in that moment instead of Elizabeth, that her name would not have been what your brain remembered. From what Jason's told me Sam, you had just gotten Danny back and named him right before Jason got shot. That means that Danny was essentially new to his brain, which is not to say that he loved him any less than he did Jake, but he had fewer memories associated with Danny's name. The human brain is a source of constant wonder and unpredictability, I assure you."

They both stared at Kevin, enthralled as he wound down, gesturing to them, "Please…go on." They both continued to stare at him, processing his words slowly. Then Jason turned back to Sam and she instinctively looked over to him as he said, "I don't agree that I didn't fall in love with you before I remembered you. There were lots of images and dreams of you that didn't make any sense to me then - I saw us in our bed, you getting on the bike with me, me asking you to move in…there's no way I would've remembered you so much if you weren't important! I never had another memory of that woman after the first one, even after months and months spent with her - doesn't that tell you something?" When she didn't answer he sounded a response. "I didn't see it then but it tells me it's always been you, Sam - always!"

Sam dropped her head in outright disbelief. "How can you even say that to me? You leave me every time things get a little hairy for us! You leave and turn to Elizabeth Webber and I know that she makes it super easy for you by always being her available wanton self, but you turn to her every time! Why not just give in to what your heart's been trying to tell you for so long, Jason?"

"I am, Sam but it's not saying what you're thinking! I admit that I confided in her whenever things went wrong between us, but it was never more than friends. I thought she was someone I could trust, it felt natural to let her in but I've never wanted her over you, not ever! I've always loved you so damn much!"

He couldn't seem to make her understand and he could tell she wasn't any closer to believing him. "I was an ass after I found out who I was, I couldn't process the feelings that had been circling around you to get them to make sense in my corroded mind so I pushed you aside. The way that I felt every time I was near you and Danny…it was scary as hell how raw and powerful those emotions were…Sam, it was just easier to settle for the more rational way that I felt about Elizabeth - _that_ I could manage, _that_ I could control."

She turned away from him again, nervous and on edge, moving from the couch over to the window to look down at the harbor. She watched the ships sailing away as Jason watched her, and Kevin watched one then the other.

"Honestly, Jason, I've sometimes felt that you settled for me and the life we built together, like you couldn't have the one you really wanted."

You could've heard a pin drop as Kevin sat there and listened and Jason's eyes opened in shock. He'd had no idea that she'd ever felt that way. "Sam, why would you ever feel like that?" What had he done to this incredible woman's love for him? "Did I do something to make you feel this way?"

She turned to face him, her arms wrapped around herself in the tightest hug. She looked him in the eye and her voice was sad as she said, "You don't like who you are, Jason. You don't like who we are together, can't you see that? Every single time we stumbled in our relationship you turned to Elizabeth Webber. It's always her Jason, it was always her. It's become obvious that the only reason you weren't with her to begin with is because she can't handle your life, but you don't live that life anymore, so what're we doing here? That life, that you, were always the things that kept you apart and with me - the tough chick who didn't need much maintenance, am I right?"

"No, God, Sam, you're not right at all!" He was off the couch and moving over to her, his one good hand reaching out of its own volition to rest on her arm and grab on tight. "I don't know what I ever did to make you think that but I swear to you that I've never wanted anyone more in my life!" Jason felt his eyes tearing up when he thought about her seeing herself as anything less than the perfect woman, partner, wife and lover that she was. How could he have let her down this colossally and been so completely unaware? "I've never loved anyone as much as I've loved you, Sam. That has never changed and it never will." The unbelieving look in her eyes tore at his heart. He shook her gently as he said, "You have been by my side through some of the darkest periods in my life…when I thought Michael was dead, when I thought my son was dead _YOU_ were my rock! You supported me when I felt alone. The first time I lost my memory you were my sole source of trust because you never lied to me…I could count on you, I've always been able to count on you! You encouraged me when I had crushing doubts, you've even carried me when I felt paralyzed and afraid…how do you not know how incredible you are to me?"

He bent his shoulder to get them eye to eye. "You were my very best friend, Sam…you know every darkness, you've seen through to my soul and you still stayed. You've held me at my weakest and my lowest, you've experienced me at my worst and you still loved me. I've never laughed or smiled, or known the sheer bliss with _anyone_ like I've known with you! Sam, the biggest joys in my life came out of loving you…our son, our marriage, _US_ …have been the single most rewarding and fulfilling accomplishments of my life!"

Jason fell to his knees in front of her, wrapping his good arm around her tiny frame, pulling her to him to press the side of his face against her belly, the rhythmic sound of her beating heart like sweet music to his own. "How do you not know that my world begins and ends with you? Elizabeth, of all people, could never compare to you in my eyes or my heart!" He felt her hand brush over his hair haltingly and he wanted to stay there forever. "You're amazing Sam, and if anything, baby _you_ settled for _me_!"

Kevin sat there, resolute to giving them a quiet moment but he soon cleared his throat to indicate that he was still in the room. They had seemed to branch off into a private little world where no-one and nothing else existed, but they had more work to do before he would be confident this couple would let each other in again.

Remembering that they weren't alone, Sam and Jason broke away from each other and returned to the couch, but Kevin noticed that they sat closer in the middle, rather than at the far ends as before. He smiled a little as he picked the talks back up. "I'd say we're off to a good start. Sam, Jason, there's a lot of love in this room, leading me to believe that your relationship, your trust in each other can be rebuilt. It won't be easy but something tells me that you two know that nothing worth having ever is." He noted the agreeable look between the two and kept going, "I'd like us to continue to work together for a while. I would like to help you get back what you lost."

When they agreed that they were open to getting help and moving forward on a journey towards each other, they set a plan for therapy with Dr. Collins. He told them that over the next few sessions they would dive into their marriage in an attempt to weed out the pitfalls and to identify the strengths that could help them rebuild. After that the rest of the hour was spent synapsing that period for the good doctor.

Kevin's questions opened up a biting anthill for Sam and took her through the joys and the pains of that time in their lives. They relayed to Kevin how so many people had inserted themselves into their relationship and into their marriage. There was Franco, who had invaded the sanctity of their honeymoon and made them doubt Danny's paternity and allowed Sam to think that he had raped her. Then his crazy mother Heather Webber faked their paternity test as payback for an imagined slight, and of course, who could forget Elizabeth Webber's major role in driving yet another calculated wedge between them when outside inflicted marital issues threatened their brand new union. Sam determined that the woman could have been Heather Webber's biological daughter from how crazy and detached from reality she was, the same unstable DNA seemed to course through her veins. She had literally allowed their son to be kidnapped by faking the DNA test Jason had her run when he suspected that Danny was alive and well and living with Tea Delgado in another town. She deliberately led Jason to believe that the DNA test was negative for a match to Sam, simply because she didn't want the baby bringing the separated couple back together. A couple who she knew were separated only because of how much they were hurting over the supposed death of Sam's baby…a couple who she knew were madly in love with each other. She, the same deranged bitch who for years liked to tell anyone who would listen how Sam watched Jake get kidnapped and did nothing to stop it and told no-one…she, the picture of virtue and sanctimony, the halo-wearing Florence Nightingale of Port Charles, was willing to let a mother go on believing her child was dead and allow that child to be raised by someone else, all because she had her eyes set on someone else's husband…someone else's husband who she'd tried and failed to hold, over and over again. How did her actions make her any less than an accomplice to Danny's kidnapping? Her ass whopping was a long time coming!

"Speaking of marriage," Sam quipped, "will you please tell him that it's kinda weird how he keeps referring to me as his wife? We've been divorced for a long time now - it's kinda odd!"

Jason was quick to answer, "Nothing odd about it - in my heart you will be my wife till the day I die - that's just how it is."


	19. Chapter 19

All too soon the loaded hour was up and Kevin felt almost reluctant to end their very productive session, but the heaviness of the short period deserved a break, and the couple had committed to picking it up again. Kevin walked them to the outer office feeling confident in their progress. "Sam, Jason, I'm looking forward to seeing you next week." Sam walked out ahead of them and was the first to notice the congregation by the reception desk. Kevin did next and inquired, "Dawn, what's this?"

The Receptionist broke from the small group of two nurses and an Orderly and approached them. "It's Elizabeth Webber, she was found at the bottom of the stairs and has been admitted in serious condition."

Upon hearing the woman's name Sam continued walking out the doors and towards the elevator. She wasn't the least bit interested in the nurse's plight. She was sure Jason would be on his way to check up on the nurse so when he appeared at the elevator next to her instead, Sam was more than a tiny bit surprised. He eyed her softly, "Would you like to grab some lunch?" He was almost shy with the question and Sam couldn't help asking, "Don't you want to go check on her?"

For a split second Jason wondered who she was referring to before he realized the full connotation of her question. "What I'd really like to do is have lunch with my wife and son. Yes? Can we pickup Danny and get something to eat? Please?"

What universe was this? Jason Morgan was unaffected by news that the great Elizabeth Webber was in need of rescue and care? Sam studied his features to determine if he was acting for her benefit but couldn't detect a single care outside of his concern for her answer.

Suddenly Monica was clearing her throat next to them. "Earth to Jason and Sam, anybody home?" They both looked to her at the same time - when had she come up?

Monica smiled as she hugged her son, gingerly avoiding his bad arm, "you two were a million miles away. How was the session?" She couldn't stop the hope from creeping into her question. Sam and Jason belonged together…she knew it, their friends and families knew it, the forces that continually worked in earnest to keep them apart knew it…but until the two most stubborn people in the world also remembered it too, they would have a long road ahead of them. She was staring at Sam inquiringly.

Sam knew the question was directed at her but her jumbled and confused feelings about their current situation made her reluctant to answer queries about them. She had thought they were over, had steeled her heart and her mind from dwelling on what they'd been to each other and anything they could be again, but recent events had invaded her walls and had fractured her resolve. The lines between the stranger Jason who'd shut down against their life together and run from their relationship, and the renewed man who kept hammering at her restrictions and invading her guarded walls, were quickly becoming a blur. "It was…interesting," was all she'd commit to in that moment. Monica seemed to sense her reluctance and changed the subject.

"Good, I'm glad you're open to trying, for both your sakes and for my darling grand baby." She looked to Jason almost apologetically, "I hate to bother you with this but I think you'd better head it off before it becomes problematic."

His eyes asked the question that his lips did not, so she continued, "Elizabeth Webber took a nasty fall down the stairs and she's undergoing surgery right now to stop the internal bleeding." At the steely look of indifference that came over his face she laid a hand on Sam's arm and looked from one to the other as she hurriedly finished, "I know, I know she's the last person you both want to think about right now, but when they found her she told the attending staff that she was pushed." She looked intently at her daughter-in-law, "Sam, she insinuated that you were the one who pushed her down the stairs."

Jason closed his eyes and inhaled a jagged breath. Every fucking time! It's like the trifling woman had a radar to sense when he'd made the least bit of headway with Sam, there she always was, running straight through it! Why couldn't she have broken her mangy neck when she fell - it would have saved them all so much damn trouble! He took another deep breath, no - she's Jake's mother - he shouldn't wish ill will on her, but so help him if she didn't leave his wife alone he would fucking strangle her to death one of these days. "Sam didn't push that woman! What kind of game is she playing this time?"

Monica reassured her son, "Of course I know it's not true, Jason. I just think you should talk to her before she involves the police and repeat the lies."

Sam shook her head in angry disbelief. "First of all, if I'd pushed her she'd be very dead because I'd have made sure of it! Second of all, where does she get off? Does she really want to do this? She thinks she _really_ wants to come for me?"

Monica was understanding but had to be the voice of reason, "Sam, please don't say things like that, especially not now. I'll let you know when she's out of surgery and can have visitors - you have to get this under control before she takes it any further." She hugged them both and left a fuming Sam and Jason not wanting anything but to confront and eliminate the spiteful woman from their lives.

"I'm sorry, Sam - I did this, I brought her into our relationship and not for hell will she leave - no matter what I do. I'm sorry!"

At first Sam wanted to tell him that he should be sorry and blame him for it all but the grown up side of her knew better. She sighed dispiritedly, "It's not all your fault Jason. Yes, you really should've chosen better, but she's a grown woman - she's responsible for her own damn actions. I'll tell you though, I really don't know how much farther I'll let her push me before I fucking kill her!"

Slow as snow Jason moved over to stand up against her, purposely and effectively brushing his arm along hers, their eyes locking and holding as the electricity that existed so naturally between them coursed through their veins. Her husband was all man, that virile, strong, muscled, toned specimen of a man who'd brought her to the pinnacle so many times with the most minimal effort. He knew her through and through and had always had the power to make her scream as easily as he'd made her purr. She knew this body, had caressed every contour of every muscle and kissed her way along every line. That delicious body that brushed hers sinfully, sending wave upon wave of electric heat through her, rendering her speechless and breathless with its intensity. She wanted him.

Jason could feel the raw animalistic magnetism running rampant between them and it was something he'd only felt with her. With just one look, one touch, one sweet curl of her delicious lips, she had always had the power to render him helpless and spellbound. He felt the heat from her body as it permeated his skin as it brushed hers, and when the warmth spread through his chest and loins he knew he had to have her again. She was _it_ , had always been, and he was done letting outside forces and unwelcome threats keep her love from him. He wanted her.

Head lowered, he leaned into her, smoky eyes holding focus as his lips searched out the sweet breath that escaped hers, gliding across the softest succulence as he landed on the surface of her lips. Sam sank into him moving to drink as much as she fed, reigniting a union that was long ago written in the scrolls of the sages. This was her home…his arms, his lips, the softest moan as he pulled her to him and lost himself in her essence. His lips traced her lips…hard but soft planes that licked her boneless and weak kneed, driving her heart to flutter. She grabbed a hold and clung to him, solid, sinuous muscles burning where she touched, and Jason knew he was home. She tasted like strawberry wine as he drank his fill of her sweet juice, heart beating through his chest as memories ran rampant and their tongues danced the mating dance of their love. His blood boiled where she touched, enticing his lips to crush hers again and again as he mercilessly latched on to her tongue, pulling it into his mouth where he sucked and toyed, his sharp intake of oxygen signaling her effect upon his breathing.

Finally they came apart as their lungs screamed for air, forcing them to pull up and breathed deeply. Sam still clung to him for fear her jellied knees would not hold, as he in turn held tight to keep her close. After an eternity she found her voice again, "D-Danny. Lunch."

The sound of his baby's name upon her lips was always so very right. Jason smiled and brushed the ever straying loch of hair from her gorgeous face. "Yes. Danny. Lunch."

They picked their son up from his playdate and as they settled at a table in Kelly's, Jason couldn't help smiling to himself at the turn his day had taken. Just a few hours before, the dismally disdain he'd been feeling was almost overwhelming, but it blanched now in the face of the joy that filled his heart as he drunk in the sight before him - the woman he loved, cuddling the fruit of that love shared between them, was all he'd ever need to get him through. She wasn't ready to dive back into them and he would respect her space and take everything at her guided pace, but his heart was so much lighter after their candid talk and heated kiss…he knew they were headed in the right direction and he was more than ready to put in the work to get it back. He wanted it all back.

A thrilling and fulfilling afternoon was spent with their perfect little boy, watching him smile and dying when he laughed. He was such a happy, joyous kid and as Jason watched the interaction of mother and son he marveled once again at the beautiful bond between the two. She loved their son wholeheartedly and had spent the first years of his life as his sole parental influence, something Jason wanted to spend the rest of his sharing with her from there on in, but as he admired the beauty before him, Jason knew she deserved so much more than he would ever have to give. She was worthy of everything, and though she was still wary with him, she had willingly consented to lunch. Things were looking up and he knew it was time for him to woo her, now that she appeared ready to let him. Lunch with their favorite person in the world was the tiniest start, but he'd take it. Sam never asked for anything and he knew she never would, but he'd always wanted to give her the world. He was about to give her something else too.

Later that night, Elizabeth had woken up from a deep sleep, groggy and alone. Her body ached and her head felt like bricks but she was alive. She laid there as she came awake, realizing slowly that she hadn't woken just by chance - she'd heard something. She was not alone. As her newly opened eyes grew accustomed to the darkened room, they formed a seated shadow by the dresser, and the cold shiver running up her backbone signified immediate and unknown danger, sending the panic blaring through her. She reached for the call button but it was not where she'd left it earlier by her hand - it was nowhere that she could feel. There was no movement coming from the form but she could hear the distinct and soft breathing as his chest rose and fell. Finding her voice she stammered, "Who-who's there?"

No answer, and still no movement. Was her mind playing tricks? Was that just an odd shadow climbing out of her drug induced and cloudy mind? She shut her eyes tight and opened them again quickly, squinting as she concentrated on the form more closely. There was definitely someone there, and the unnerving silence was lending greatly to her rising fear. "What do you want - who are you?"

That's when he rose and approached, his movements ever so deliberate and seemingly calculatingly slow. He stopped just by her bed and Elizabeth opened her mouth to scream but a voice ventured to shush her. His "Shhh-shhhh!" was quietly drawn out, then he reached a hand out and flipped the switch on the lamp, his familiar image giving her tremendous relief.

"Oh, My God, Jason! You scared me!" As the panic left, her heart rejoiced and her mind started making plans - Jason's here! She got hurt and Jason came - of course Jason would always come when she needed him the most. She started to scold herself for doubting him when the chips were down.

"I'm happy it's you, Jason." Her smile was wide and as it begun spreading even farther, she noticed the lack of one in response. The coldness of his normally warm blue eyes were her next clue, with the tight set of his jaws and lips a very clear indication. This was not a friendly visit.

Again he fell silent and simply watched her, no trace of the kind man she'd held just months prior. This was a predator standing before her, this man had an agenda and a purpose and she was his prey. Her fear sprang to life once more.

He took another step closer, his voice dripping with the same icy cold that lived in his eyes. "Who pushed you?"

Her panic quadrupled. She knew he'd come, at the end of the day Jason would always come when she needed him…but she had no clue he wouldn't come for _her_. As his question replayed in her head and broke through her fogged mind she watched him snake a hand in his pocket and kept it there, his cold, cold eyes never leaving her. She knew he was waiting for an answer and she had one well rehearsed and prepared but how could she give it now when he looked ready to kill? Best to fall on Plan B - hurt, innocent, lost Elizabeth got him every single time.

"Jason, I…" Her voice trailed off as he removed the hand from his jacket at a snail's pace to produce a pair of black gloves, donning the left one gingerly, his eyes trained on her the whole time. What happened to the sling that was supposed to be keeping his arm immobile as it healed?

"Who…pushed…you?" His tone implied he would not ask again, and as her already pale, dead complexion turned even whiter, he added, "Did you say it was my wife?"

Elizabeth's eyes bulged as she saw Jason's intention - no, he can't mean to do her harm - can he? Her voice almost failed her as she hurried to explain herself. "No, no it was a misunderstanding. I never said Sam pushed me - all I said was I saw her and she hates me so much she wants me dead - I never said she pushed me."

His pace did not change with the gloving of the right hand and neither did his stare as she watched the angle his eyes took ever so leisurely moving from her face to rest on her neck. Elizabeth's hand flew to her neck almost on instinct, as she tried to make him understand. "She hates me, Jason. She hates me and she would've gladly pushed me down those steps - that's all I was trying to say. They misunderstood what I said, I never said she did it, you have to believe me." Her voice squeaked with the last part, causing his eyes to travel back from her neck to rest frigidly on hers.

Jason finished putting the gloves in place and stood there looking at the woman, fingers twitching as he cricked his neck. He thought about how he had loved her once, nowhere near the mind blowing, all consuming, can't get enough way that he's always loved Sam, but he would've done almost anything to take care of her and make her happy, to make his son happy. He used to admire the good he thought he saw in her, the way she appeared to live her life was clean, gentle and kind, or so he'd thought. He would've never guessed, not in a million years, that she was capable of the mean-spirited, selfish, underhanded things that she had done, all in the name of loving him. What had happened to her to turn her soul this black? The most dangerous part about her was she hid her charred soul underneath a mountain of innocence and calculated actions that were designed to blind and mislead, and her victims would never see her coming until it was too late and they were already on the floor bleeding from the viciousness of her love-proclaimed inflicted wounds. Snake was too good a name for her.

Jason placed his hands back in his pocket, wincing inwardly from the pain he was inflicting on his injured shoulder, but as he continued to glare at the frightened creature his own pain barely registered within his underlying anger. "Will I need to visit you tomorrow night?" The stone cold iciness was deliberate and he knew it'd found its mark.

"No, I'll clear it up, Jason. First thing in the morning I'll make sure everybody knows it was just a misunderstanding, I swear I'll clear it all up!" Elizabeth saw her life flash before her and for once the giant tears streaming down her face were not manufactured for his benefit. She didn't want to die and please God, not at the hands of her love. He was so cold, so formal, so utterly unaffected by all they'd shared. Would he really kill the mother of his child? Was that evil woman's hold on him so strong that he could really stand here and threaten her in her weakened and battered state? The icy block standing before her told her yes, this was the killer that they all whispered about. "Please, Jason."

"This is the last time I will ever ask you again to leave my family alone." The deadly silence that followed those words was broken only by Jason turning his back to walk from the room, leaving Elizabeth staring after him, unable to stop the tears she cried or the vengeance wreaking through her heart. She was his family too dammit. Why couldn't he see her love?

Sam stood in the open doorway and looked at her sweet baby boy fast asleep in his bed, safely tucked in from the world around them and surrounded by a blanket of protective love from so many. She listened to his soft, even breathing and content filled her heart and soul. For so long she thought she'd never have this, never know the joy of a mother's love for her perfect creation, her innocent charge, and looking at her baby she couldn't stop her thoughts from going to the man who created him with her. They had wanted him for so long, had lived with knowing he wasn't a possibility almost as long, to now share the joy of raising him together was everything. Then the sigh escaped her as she remembered that they weren't really raising him together though, fate had found it fitting to cruelly rip them apart again. Sam closed her son's door and made her way to her own bedroom, climbing onto the bed and once again thinking about the partner who'd shared it with her before. The countless passion-filled nights and days they'd spent locked together in its width, exploring each other, blocking out the world and all its traps and trials, and she couldn't help the lonely that crept underneath the covers with her. Sighing again, Sam beat her pillow into submission and settled into its comfort, knowing that she had some hard decisions to make and some long thinking to do. Could she trust him with her heart again? Could she ever give him the part of her soul that had his stamp on its core in indelible ink for all time, the same piece of her soul that he had damaged so carelessly? Her thoughts as sleep grabbed hold and drew her into restful darkness was of a succulent kiss between destined souls that had found the familiarity known only to the two, and as her body succumbed in sleep to the drains of the day, her dreams surrendered to the kisses of a fair, blue eyed Greek God.


	20. Chapter 20

**_A/N: My girl Sam has been dealing with_** ** _alot_** ** _in this story, so this chapter is more of a filler, dedicated to giving her a few laughs to ease up on the heavy lifting._**

"Coming!" Someone was knocking on the door of the penthouse, a continuos knocking that was driving Sam crazy as she hurried from the kitchen to blast whoever it was for being so obnoxious. "WHAT?"

Maxie swooped in the minute the door opened, "Sam, you're not ready!" She looked her friend up and down in disapproval of her casual lounging attire.

Sam went to close the door behind her, simultaneously turning her gaze to follow Maxie into the living room, "Ready for wh…" she was cut off as the door was pushed open wider and she turned to find Carly unexpectedly barging in behind Maxie. "Carly? What're you doing here?"

Carly threw her clutch on the desk as she turned to face Sam, "Why aren't you ready?"

Sam was more than a little confused as she closed the door but not before she popped her head out to make sure nobody else was trailing behind the blonde. Turning to face the two busybodies she shrugged a shoulder at them, "What am I supposed to be ready for?" She didn't remember making plans with either of them for the afternoon and she was in the middle of making her baby a snack. The two blondes looked at each other and smiled before turning back to a still mystified Sam, who was looking at them inquiringly. "Somebody wanna tell me what's going on?"

Carly walked over to her, grabbing her arm and pushing her towards the stairs. "All you need is your passport, grab it and let's go," pushing Sam even further.

Sam whirled around to look at both of them, Carly who was standing there like a warden waiting for her to obey commands and Maxie, who had taken up residence on the couch and was thumbing through her purse. "Have you two lost your minds? When exactly did I plan international travel?"

Maxie looked at her with confusion contouring her face, "Wait, Sam - didn't Jason tell you?"

Sam walked back towards her with her hands opened curiously, "Tell me what?"

Carly chimed in, "Leave it to Jase to leave out the details. No matter, really Sam, Sonny's jet is waiting - we gotta go." She was moving back towards the desk where she picked up her discarded clutch and motioned for Sam to go up the stairs. "C'mon, seriously, we gotta go."

Sam folded her arms and looked at them both. "Okay, whatever this is it's not happening, okay? Danny will be up from his nap any minute so you two have fun wherever it is you're headed to."

Just then there was a knock on the door and Carly who was standing next to it reached over and turned the handle, opening to reveal Jason standing there. "Jason! Nice of you to finally show up and oh, by the way, thanks for clueing Sam in!" She spun around to Sam again, "Hayden was supposed to be here already - why is everybody late today?"

"Hello to you too, Carly." Jason entered the room and instantly felt uncomfortable with the audience, and it didn't help that they were all staring at him as he walked over to Sam. He had just seen her the day before when he dropped Danny off after dinner with his mom, but he could swear she looked more beautiful every single time he laid eyes on her. He stopped before her and looked into beautiful brown eyes, his signature smirk-smile transforming his face. "Hi."

Sam wanted to know what was happening and why her living room was suddenly teeming with bodies but her mind seemed to forget everyone else once the smirk-smile broke out, temporarily rendering her soft. "Hi."

They stared at each other for a minute before he asked, "Where's Danny?"

"Still napping. He'll be up soon."

"Okay." It was then that Jason remembered his other reason for stopping by. He jerked his head in the blondes' direction, "In case they've been too busy talking so they could hear themselves and didn't tell you what's up, I'm here to take Danny to the suite while you're gone."

"Not you too! I feel like I'm stuck in an Abbot and Castello skit where the question is justing bouncing around in circles - Where am I supposed to be going, Jason?"

"Mexico."

At Jason's mention of their destination Maxie and Carly both shouted, throwing their hands in the air animatedly, "Viva Mexicoooo-yea!"

Sam furrowed her brows and quickly looked from one to the other in the room, "What? I can't go to Mexico?"

Maxie hurried over to her friend, "Sam, as Carly said, the only thing you'll need is your passport, Jason already made sure I got everything else…trust me the entire new Cartulo Summer Line is packed and waiting in the limo - from sunglasses to bikinis bebe - we're set! Lets go!"

Sam turned to Jason confused. "You did this? You planned to send me out of the country without me knowing about it?"

"I figured you'd catch on somewhere over the Pacific." That hot smirk-smile again. "Seriously though, I want you to go with your girls on this short trip - really, you need to recharge, Sam. You've been dealing with _alot_."

Maxie added, "And where better than Cabo San Lucas? Three days and two nights filled with sun, surf, and tequila - what's not to love?" Carly joined in with "Viva Mexico, woohoo!"

Sam looked back at Jason, her own smirk-smile lifting her lips in shared humor, "Mexico, huh?"

"Yep, and don't worry about Danny, my main man and I have plans of our own to keep us busy." He reached his good hand out to hold hers, "Just go have some fun, okay?" Then lowered his voice for her ears alone he added softly, "Let me take care of you."

"So now you have my baby keeping things from me?" Sam was smiling as she looked around the room, and she had to admit that a quick, spontaneous adventure with the girls did sound like fun. She eyed Jason and once again marveled at the change in him, and as she looked at them one more time before heading up the stairs she couldn't help the smile that spread to her heart.

Two hours later the girls were in the air on Sonny's jet and Hayden, who had met them at the airport because she was running late, was in the middle of proposing their fourth toast of the afternoon. The minute they got on board they had decided they'd get a headstart on the tequila shots. "Okay, technically it's only early afternoon in Cabo but we know it's five o' clock somewhere - so ladies, here's to a kickass couple a days with some kick ass bitches to have with you in any jam! Cheers!"

"Woohoo! Cheers!"

Sam downed the shot and winced at the sting of the liquor going down, shutting one eye then biting into the slice of lime. "Who's idea was this? I'm honestly loving it so far, and we're not even there yet!"

Maxie was wincing much in the same way after downing her shot too, "You can thank Jason for putting it together," she said flashing her hand furiously against the sting at her throat. "He called us and told us you needed this, so here we are! He got the limo and the hotel, Carly got the jet and I got the outfits. Hayden got the…well, Hayden just kinda invited herself along but what the hell…the more the merrier!"

Carly was already pouring herself and Hayden another. "Hey, my best friend is the best damn man I know, and you and I haven't always been friends Sam, but Jason loves you more than he's ever loved anyone, and you're good for him. You two are good for each other."

Sam held out her shotglass to Carly, "Shut your drunk ass up and pour! Cabo, here we come - WOOHOO!"

Mexico was beautiful and the hotel was intriguing, from the outside that was built in the shape of the pyramids to the inside with live vines running from the ceiling to cascade over each floor, all the way down to the lobby. Jason had booked them a top floor two-bedroom suite with double kings in each one, and a fully stocked bar and mini fridge. The wide balcony sported an incredible view of the infinity pool with the ocean as a backdrop, and as Sam stepped through the dual sliding doors to take it in, she breathed in fresh, salty sea air and looked out to the horizon and exhaled. Crystal clear skies cast the bluest hue on the vast ocean as far as the eye could see and she immediately wanted a dip in its depth. Hayden had followed her out and dropped onto one of the four lounge chairs facing the oceanview, "Oh, yeah - this is the life."

Sam chuckled at her, "It's pretty sweet. I'm going for a swim who wants to join?"

"Maybe not a swim but definitely the beach, let's go."

Twenty minutes later all three were lounged on the beach placing drink orders with their personal butler who came with the suite, while Sam waded out to dive into the sweet blue. The ocean had always been like a second home for her and she loved that Jason remembered that about her. The water was cool and inviting and as she dipped and bobbed with the waves she felt so very peaceful and at ease. She was definitely going to enjoy this.

When Sam got back on shore their butler, Oracio, was telling the ladies about the planned agenda for the next two days. Jason had arranged excursions as part of his gift for Sam and as she listened she was really touched at how well he still knew her.

Maxie didn't sound quite as impressed when she piped up, "Ziplining and ATVs are all good and well for some people, but how about you get to the massages and spa treatments he booked following the deathtraps?"

At Oracio's apologetic look and Maxie's responding shock, they burst out laughing. "Sorry, miss, but only excursions were prescheduled for your stay." He hurried to appease her dissatisfaction, "but I will be happy to book those for you now, yes?" He smiled and nodded when she relaxed back into her lounger.

"Si. Gracias, Oracio!"

They spent the rest of the early evening lounging by the beach, sipping on margaritas with intermittent tequila shots, before dining on traditional Mexican fare at the hotel's outside restaurant. Sam looked around at her three friends, all of whom were more than a little bit tipsy at that point and she couldn't help smiling at how different, yet alike they all were. Carly Corinthos, the Hotelier and Mobster Wife, had been a bitter enemy when Sam first came to town and she was gungho about splitting up Sam and Jason so he could get back together with Courtney, yet somewhere along the way, with lost loves and shared tragedies the two had become strong friends, and Carly was as loyal as they come. Maxie Jones, the Fashionista Junior Editor, could be flighty and unpredictable and she was characteristically selfish, but she owned every fault and made it work for her, and had proven her loyalty and friendship on so many occasions. Hayden Barnes, the former Financier and reformed Conwoman, was a new surprise who Sam would have never guessed she'd become friends with but the woman was another take-no-nonsense fighter with a good side and a positive attitude. Not only did their fierce, loyal, independent, bold characteristics blend extremely well, but by some great Devine they all hated the bejesus out of Elizabeth Webber. The thought made Sam laugh out loud so she raised her margarita high, "Ladies…to great friends, great loves, and the total annihilation of mutual enemies. Salud!"

"SALUD!" They all chorused as glasses clinked and laughter echoed into the night.

The next morning they were up at nine to start a full day of activities. After Sam and Carly called home to check in with the kids they all had a lazy breakfast outside near the beach then headed over to the marina for the first activity on Jason's list, parasailing. Maxie didn't relish the thought of sailing high above the sea with only a line tethering a chaired balloon zooming behind a highspeed boat, but she refused to be a party pooper so she clung to Sam for dear life as the parasail eased off the boat and started soaring through the air. The wind was a little brisk so it caused the seat to rock from side to side and soon after they'd reached the height limit and leveled out, Maxie was surprised to find that it didn't seem so scary anymore and she was able to enjoy the beauty of the view from high…miles and miles of sea and beachfront below with miles and miles of blue skies above.

Sam looked at her friend and she could see the moment that the tranquility of their surroundings started to take effect and calm her nerves. She was also very happy to feel the blood circulating again as Maxie unclasped her poor arm, so she relaxed back into the seat and drank in the picturesque view around them. So perfect and serene. The feeling of flying high above the world on a cloud was euphoric and cleansing and all too soon they felt the slight dip as the parasail started its decent back to the boat.

As Hayden and Carly took their turn riding the skies, Sam and Maxie enjoyed the boat with the crew of three, the Captain who kept them on course as they glided through the waves, the operator who launched and watched over the safe gliding of the parasail, and a photographer who chronicled the ladies' experience. The boat cut through the water, sending a spray over the two friends basking in the beauty of the day as the Reggaeton music drummed its beat through the air. They found themselves moving to the music as they watched their friends soar and the margarita that they'd had with breakfast helped to relax them even more.

"Wooooo," Maxie shouted as another wave sprayed over the side of the boat, drenching their hair and swimwear, and the music thumped a rhythmic beat through their bodies. "Wooooo-hoo," was the response from the crew, breaking them all into mirth and laughter.

"That was so cool," Hayden said as they alighted from the boat back onto the Marina. "What's next?"

"Well, Ziplining is tonight so I say we catch some rays and have lunch on the beach." Carly was loving it.

Sam was agreeable to that, "Keep the margaritas coming and I'm in!"

"Amen to that, sister!"

Oracio had towels waiting by their lounge chairs and was ready to bring out the drinks as soon as they got comfy. "Why the hell don't we do this more often?" Carly was curious.

Sam had an answer, "We get caught up in everybody else's bullshit and forget to take care of ourselves, that's why!"

"Well, we need to stop it. This is awesome - no kids, no Sonny, no drama…"

"…Tequila," Hayden added to a burst of laugher and cheers as Oracio returned with margaritas and shots.

They had lunch and more tequila, before deciding to take a nap to refresh for Ziplining. At seven they met their limo driver in the hotel lobby for the short ride to the location, where they were met by two guides who would take them through the experience. They followed them to the most interesting underground caves and as they filed through the twists and turns and jagged stones the four friends marveled at the wonders in nature. Hayden broke out her phone and turned the camera on video, then spun around so she was walking backwards to get good footage of herself with the cave in the background, "I'm in Mexico in a cave somewhere. If you don't hear from me in a few hours, please, _somebody_ … _come find me_!" Her voice was brimming with laughter even as she tried to sound scared.

They burst out laughing as Carly shoved her shoulder, "Idiot!"

At the end of their walk they came to the foot of a towering flight of steps that they needed to climb to get to the lines. Maxie was losing her nerve again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…how high is this thing?" She turned to her friend, "Sam, I have a heart condition, remember? That can get me out of this with no hard feelings, right?"

"Oh, come on Maxie, it's not that bad. Look…," Sam said pointing upwards, "it's not like you can't see the top." She was already climbing when she continued, "Come on, I'll race you." She was really going to enjoy this adrenaline rush.

Carly and Hayden were just as excited to get up there so Maxie had no choice but to bring up the rear since she had no company to stay at the bottom. She cursed the name Jason Morgan under her breath with every step that she left behind her, till finally she joined the others at the top where they were already getting fitted in harnesses. Sam turned to smile at Maxie, "Come on, you'll love it!"

"Not likely! And why did we have to do this at night away? Is Jason Morgan trying to kill us?"

"Just look around you, Maxie - it's beautiful at night."

"I'm looking and all I see is miles and miles of jungle - _dark_ jungle waiting for my poor lifeless body to plummet to its death. Why can't you and Jason ever like anything calm and relaxing like gondolas and hot stone massages?"

They moved to the edge where the line started and the guide hooked Hayden up and gave them instructions. "There are seven lines to complete to circle back around. Use both hands to hold on tight, bend your knees and when you get to the end of the line there will be someone there to help you off. Don't look down if you don't like heights and don't forget to breathe. Have fun - go," he finished, before he sent Hayden soaring off into the night.

Sam was next and as the attendant hooked up her harness and checked its security she turned her head to look back at Maxie. "You good?"

Maxie waved her on, "Go ahead, I'm fine. I'll be right behind you."

"Okay, see you in a few." She smiled at the attendant, "Let's do this!" then soared off as he gave her line a gentle push, sending her zipping through the air over trees and vines. Sam released her hold on the harness and spread her hands like wings as she closed her eyes and listened to the night. Sounds of jungle life filled her ears with songs of crickets and frogs and she loved every second spent dangling in midair, surrounded by a sense of zipping through nothingness. She landed at the end of the first line, eagerly anticipating the next one, but decided to wait for Maxie to make sure she was okay. Hayden joined her as they watched Carly come up behind Sam, no Maxie in sight.

"What happened to Maxie?"

Carly shook her head as she smiled at them, "She chickened out. Got hooked up and everything then backed out - she went down with one of the guides - she'll meet us at the end."

"She's okay?" Sam was concerned.

"She's fine. Let's go."

The zipping was exhilarating and at the end Sam wanted to do it again, but they decided to go off tracking instead. Maxie met them at the end of the lines, a little bit sheepfaced as they started teasing her. Sam bit her lip to stifle the grin, "Maxie, what happened?"

Maxie raised one hand as she explained, "Sam, I was ready to go, I swear - got hooked to the line and everything, but then he said something about _seven_ times and how long each line was going to take and I looked down and all I saw was dark jungle and my life flashing before my eyes, and I just couldn't do it. Huh-huh, that was just too damn much!"

Hayden broke out laughing, "You realize you left us hanging, don't you?"

" ** _Literally_**!" They said in unison and started barreling at the pun.

"Man, we're way too sober right now. Let's finish up with the off track vehicles so we can have a damn drink!" Carly was leading the way to the next activity.

They drove the track in pairs, one vehicle following the other, and had tremendous fun navigating the sudden twists and turns that took them over rugged terrain through trees and caves and a bridge over water that came up over the bottom of it. They rode the track a few times, each lady taking a turn behind the wheel as they hooted and hollered every time they narrowly missed hitting a tree or plunged through a cave entrance, or there was a sudden dip in the track that sent them barreling down before it leveled out again. It was like being chased through a jungle, or driving a roller coaster with surprise popups along the way.

Way too soon the invigorating adventure was over and they headed back to the hotel where they decided to grab a quick dinner before checking out the night life in Cabo, thus starting a whole other one. Feeling extremely nice the ladies took on the dance floor and fell right into the nightlife. The tequila flowed all night and Sam couldn't have been surrounded by a better party trio, laughing and teasing their way through a great experience. Soon they found themselves danced out and winding down from a very busy day. They were seated at a table in the far corner of the bar when the waitress came over with a fresh bottle of tequila.

"Compliments of the gentlemen over by the bar." She nodded in their direction and the ladies turned to see two men looking over then they moved towards the table.

"Ladies. I'm Simeon and this is my friend Ellis. Will you allow us to buy you a drink?" He gestured to the freshly delivered bottle in the middle of the table.

Sam and Carly exchanged looks before scanning the newcomers. They weren't the most handsome guys in the world but weren't bad to look at in the least. Simeon was built like a jock, his muscles clearly visible through the tight fitting collar shirt and jeans. His green eyes were striking against a broad smile that seemed harmless enough. He motioned to a chair at the empty table behind him, "May, I?"

They nodded and he pulled the chair over next to Sam, as Ellis mimicked the same to sit next to Maxie, his brown eyes locked on her the entire time. Maxie watched him draw near, laying his beer down on the table as he piped up, "Where are you ladies from?" He was shorter than his friend and not as muscular but he obviously spent his fair share of time in the gym also. His dark hair was cropped low and he had a slight accent.

"New York," Carly replied then continued to introduce first names only for each of them. "How about you, where are you guys from?"

"Coincidentally, we're from New York too - a little town I'm sure you've never heard of called Beechers Corner."

"I've heard of it," she was purposely noncommittal, "what brings you to Cabo, Spring Break?" They were obviously not college age but they couldn't have been out that long, they looked not much older than Maxie.

Both men took the joke in stride, chuckling as Simeon replied, "I have a place down here, make the trip a few times a year."

"So you know all the hot spots to hit?" Hayden's eyes brightened with mischief.

"This is one of them," Simeon answered, "but we'd love to show you around to a few others." He had turned to look at Sam when he said that but she was staring at her glass, her mind obviously elsewhere. Just then the music changed and something about the drums in the Reggaeton beat reminded Sam of the boat and she just wanted to move. She sprang to her feet, pulling Maxie with her to the dance floor where their drunken, off key dance earned them more than a few appreciative stares from around the room. Working the short Cartulo minis that fit like they were made to order along with matching four inch heels, the two friends had no idea what a tempting and alluring picture they presented as they bobbed to the beat and laughed their heads off at nothing in particular. The music was heady and the atmosphere was energetic and before long they both collapsed again at the table, reaching thirstily for their half empty glasses.

Carly and Hayden were still exchanging light conversation with the two men as Sam returned to her previously vacated seat next to Simeon.

"You move very well - I'd love to take you dancing some night. What're you ladies up to tomorrow?"

Sam felt Carly nudge her knee under the table with her own and looked up to see her looking at Simeon. She groaned inwardly. There were three other beautiful women at the table and two were completely single, why her? At the thought she lifted her head - why not her? She was single too! But even as she thought that, she knew in her heart she really wasn't - not deep down where it counted, and she wondered if she'd ever feel really single ever again. He'd been lurking in there for so long that there was no corner of her heart that he hadn't entered and claimed as his own. She looked at Simeon again and made a decision. "Tell you what, it's been a long day and we're kinda beat but we're going sailing tomorrow - you're welcome to join if you want."

That time the nudge had turned into a kick under the table, a clear indication that Carly did not approve of her invitation, but Sam merely continued, "How do you feel about snorkeling?"

The jock became visibly uncomfortable. "Not much of a water person - bad swimming incident as a kid - but I'd love to show you around tomorrow night. Where are you ladies staying?"

Carly was not about to let that go any place. "Probably really close to you - where's your place?"

Sam snickered and grabbed the tequila bottle, "What say we finish the night on a bang?" She poured the rounds and sprinkled salt on her hand in preparation for the shot. She looked over to her friends, lifted her shotglass in toast and downed the silver liquid. After biting into the lime she turned to Simeon, rising to her feet as she spoke, "Thank you for the drink but we're gonna call it a night. Maybe we'll see you around." Her friends followed her and as they filed out Sam was surprised they weren't all staggering more drunkenly from the continuous rounds since the day before. She felt light headed and still in control but thought it a lucky thing Jason had the foresight to get them a dedicated limo driver who was with them everywhere.

At the hotel, Sam finished brushing her teeth and walked back into the living room to plop down on a chair. Carly was splayed across the sofa, her hand resting over her forehead and her eyes closed tightly. "God, make it stop. Please make it stop."

Sam chuckled into the night, "Make what stop - the spinning sofa or the ceiling?"

Carly opened her eyes and mumbled, "Make fun now, we'll see in the morning if I'm the only lightweight around here."

Sam sighed as she turned and hugged a pillow to her. "I don't know when we became lightweights, Carly. I used to be able to drink any guy under the table any time, day or night, and wake up fresh the next day and do it all over." She sighed again, "Now I can't even flirt and mean it."

There was a short silence in which Sam thought Carly had fallen asleep, then she heard a quiet, "Do you still love him?"

Sam didn't need to think about it - that fact had never changed over the years, no matter what place either of them were in. "Every much as I always have."

Hayden, who'd walked in from the room she shared with Maxie, didn't see the problem. "Isn't that what really matters?" They turned to look at her as she took a seat by Carly's feet on the sofa. "All I'm saying is I barely know you two, but even I could see how you feel about each other after I'd only known you guys for a few weeks. The way that man looks at you is bananas!"

Sam twirled the pillow's fringe in her hands. "Our problems aren't just on the surface. Some of this hurt runs as deep as it gets."

Maxie came out in her shortie pajamas to join the party, sitting on the floor near Carly's head. "So does the love though, Sam. I was there for a lot of it, and even I have to admit that Jason and you belong together. You don't look at anybody else the way you look at him, and I haven't seen him with anybody else the way he is with you - that stony man actually _smiles_ around you or even when he just _talks_ about you. You understand him…and lord knows the man is a conundrum!"

Carly eased up on one elbow and looked over at Sam, "They're right you know? I know Jason better than anybody, except maybe you, and as much as I hated it at times and hated you too, you're it for Jason, Sam. Elizabeth who? He's crazy about you!"

Sam got up from the chair and threw the pillow playfully at Carly, "No more heavy lifting on this trip - I'm off to bed. Coming drunkie? You need a crutch?"

Carly groaned and laid back down with her hand covering her face, "I'll just go ahead and die right here."

Sam smiled and turned towards her room when Maxie stopped her, "Sooo, Sam, if Jason's not a factor how come you completely ignored Mr. Buffulous tonight? He was nice, so what gives?"

"Can't trust a man who doesn't like the ocean." She continued on to bed, "Niiite."

"Yea, that was it I'm sure."

The next morning they sailed out on a rented Catamaran headed for snorkeling at a nearby private beach…who knew Whale Sharks would be so gentle. Sam couldn't believe how different it was from swimming with Dolphins and Rays, and was even more pleasantly surprised when Maxie actually joined them in the ocean, and enjoyed it to boot! After a leisurely late lunch out on the water the ladies returned to the hotel, where, as a reward to Maxie for actually embracing the day's activities without quarrel or qualm, they all went on her appointment for an evening beachside massage. Laying by the waves and listening as they rushed to shore, having the aches of the day kneaded from their bodies as the sunset streaked the Mexican skies in all its orangey red glory, and kissed by a sweet tropical breeze was the best end that they could've asked for to their impromptu mini-cation. They could fly home the next day feeling rejuvenated from some well deserved time off with some well rounded friends.

That night they dined by the beach again where the Tequila flowed freely and the four friends prepared to say goodbye to Mexico and walk back into their very demanding lives. They vowed that they would find time to take a trip every year and make it a proper one - a full week with no kids, no men, no problems - starting early the very next year. "Okay, maybe the kids… _maybe_. Viva Mexico - Salud!"


	21. Chapter 21

**_A/N: Thank you all for the amazing feedback on this story! I love reading your comments so keep them coming!_**

 ** _I think I got a little lost in my JaSam world and moved away from the original purpose of this one, which was to drag Liz for her heartless actions against the Morgans. I get all these ideas and next thing you know I'm taking off somewhere that has nothing to do with her, and while I love that, the next couple chapters will be backing up a bit to the original agenda for this story - making the selfish bitch hurt the way she hurt JaSamiel! Let's do this!_**

Two weeks after the wonderful short trip to Mexico, the ladies had settled back into the routine of their busy lives but found the time to get together once per week for some chow, some tequila and some always spicy, girl talk. Tonight they chose to meet Carly at the MetroCourt bar where she promised to join them after work and break out the shots of silver on the house.

Sam had just sat down to wait for the others when Elizabeth Webber sat in the seat opposite her, "I need to talk to you!"

Sam looked at the woman incredulously - she had purposely avoided her since she found out she was trying to make people believe that Sam had pushed her down a flight of stairs. Not wanting to end up in jail for strangling her Sam had purposely looked the other way every time she saw her, but she wasn't about to get up and leave her own table because of the wretched _thing_.

"I'm only going to ask you once to leave!" Sam glared at her hotly, trying in earnest to retrieve her calm from minutes before.

"I'm not trying to start anything, I just want to ask you to back off trying to crucify me for something I didn't do." She leant across the table and tried to put on a pleading, innocent face for Sam's benefit.

"I have nothing to do with you and you really want to have nothing to do with me!" Sam tried to warn her.

"You turned the tapes from an innocent conversation with Nicholas over to the police and now my life is in complete chaos because of you. Why are you doing this to me and my boys, Sam? Haven't you hurt Jakey enough for one lifetime?"

Sam laid her arms on the table and clasped her hands in front of her. "You're just a damn broken record, you know that? Try spinning another tune other than me watching Jake get kidnapped, and when you _do_ move your stale ass into this decade, find something else that you can throw at me."

"It doesn't matter what decade we're in Sam, the fact remains that you put my child in danger and because of your actions he's had upheaval after upheaval in his life. When are you going to forgive him for being Jason's first son?"

"First of all, let's get something straight - I _love_ that little boy! He is a part of Jason and he's an innocent kid. Second of all, you need to stop acting like you're any kind of a mother! If you'd been paying attention to your baby like any sane, responsible woman would have Maureen couldn't have come up and stood there looking at him and then just make off with him without you hearing a damn thing! You're a horrible, horrible mother and a worse human being who repeatedly put your children in danger because you care more about who you're banging than making sure they're being watched. Your kids' lives are in upheaval because you're a negligent, irresponsible excuse for a woman who doesn't have time to see them playing with matches or wandering out of the house in the dark to get run over in the street, because you're too busy running after dick that don't want you or agonizing over your tenth DNA test to find the father of your kid! I will not apologize to you for the _hundredth_ time for something that happened a _hundred_ years ago, and I don't care if you hate me forever because bitch, **_I hate you too_**!"

Sam watched her words sink in and sting the horrid woman as she kept giving it to her, "Nothing that happens between you and me has anything to do with Jake or Cam and Aiden - yeah, _Cam and Aiden_ \- remember them? You act like Jake is your only child because he's all you have to hold over Jason's head! Poor Cam and Aiden get pawned off on Gram so much its like they've ceased to exist. Those three adorable little boys have done nothing except be born to a lecher for a mother. They are completely innocent and I pray to God that their fathers will remove them from your undeserving clutches very soon!" Her voice softened when she recalled the incident from years before that still haunted her, "I love Jake and so does Jason! I was in a bad place when I didn't stop Maureen from taking him but I've more than tried to make it up to Jake _and_ to you, but lady I am _done_ trying!"

Sam sat back in her chair only to leap forward again, "And stop acting like I prevented Jake from having Jason as a father - **_you_** did that you selfish worm! He was good enough to bed in the dark but not good enough to have on your arm, now all of a sudden you have virtue! I accepted a long time ago that fate saw fit to have you give Jason a son at a time when I couldn't, but that same fate later gave Jason back to me and not you! Despite every effort you've made to trap him, that same fate made him love me and not you, so screw you, you faithless bitch - you're not a damn thing to me!"

"Sam, please - Jason is threatening my life over a misunderstanding - I don't need you encouraging him to take my son too. Why can't you just back off and leave me alone? You've won - you got Jason to leave me! Why can't you just drop this outrageous vendetta to send me to jail?"

Sam had lost all patience with the conversation and just wanted her gone from her sight. "I didn't try to take Jason away from you - you lost him because you've never known how to keep him! You don't keep a man like Jason Morgan with lies and deceit and games, but you wouldn't know a damn thing about that because that's the only way you live! You might as well get ready for the orange jumpsuit honey, because the State of New York has a very strong case against you and I hope they fry your ass!"

"Don't sit there and judge me, Sam! You and Jason have done unconscionable things and you're not in jail, so why do I need to go for something I didn't even do? Jason is a murderer and you're a thief, and I don't see anybody putting you in prison so what gives you the right to judge me?"

Sam's smile was dry and unfriendly, "So wait - now that you can't have him back in your bed no matter how many crocodile tears you cry - **_now_** he's a murderer? Now that he doesn't want you and can't stand the sight of you - **_now_** your moral compass comes out to label and judge him? Where was that righteous indignation when you were planning to marry my husband with me in the front row? Where was your moral self righteousness when you were sleeping with your amnesiac married _friend,_ purposely allowing him to commit adultery, knowing damn well that's not his style and he wouldn't thank you for it? Guess what, Elizabeth - both Jason and I are living in _the now_ \- feel free to join us at anytime!" Then she had another thought, "No wait, I take that back - you do spend a little time in the present… _presently_ Jason wants nothing to do with you because you're a liar and a coward and a snake who can't get a man without lies and tricks, much less keep one! You're nothing but a fucking pretender and you're not worth any of our time so bitch **_be gone_**!" Sam was so mad she'd grabbed her water glass and emptied its contents in the nurse's face. She was just about to throw the glass at her too when she felt someone grab her hand.

"Easy there, tiger." They both looked up to see the owner of smiling green eyes with a firm hold on Sam, even after he used one hand to remove the glass and place it harmlessly back on the table. Still holding onto Sam, he addressed Elizabeth who was sitting there with her mouth agape, hands up in the air, "You might want to go dry that off - something tells me there's a lot more spitfire where that came from!"

Sam yanked her arm from his hold and addressed him cooly, not taking her eyes off the fuming wet nurse, "Simeon, this doesn't concern you!"

"YOU BITCH!" Elizabeth was livid as she rose from the table but she should have headed out like Simeon suggested. As soon as she sputtered the slur Sam leaped up and slapped her mightily across the face.

"You want bitch - I'll give you your bitch!" The anger and frustration she'd been trying to reign in unleashed itself to tumble the table that separated them out of her way and she was rushing the nurse in the next second, but the bitch was quick - in that same second she was backing away from Sam, rapid making her way towards the exit.

Simeon grabbed Sam around the waist and tried again to calm her down, "She's obviously no match for you - I can't let you kill the weak." He tried to make light so she would stop trying to break free.

Holding her stinging cheek and glaring daggers at Sam, Elizabeth hurriedly left the curious bar. Sam watched her leave then pushed Simeon's hands from her waist just as Carly was walking up. "You can get off me now!" She was so angry that he stopped her from kicking the bitch's ass! "You really should mind your own business - what the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"Yea, I'd like to know that too," Carly added then looked at Sam, "You okay? My barmaid just came to get me about a ruckus in here. I show up just in time to see mousey fleeing with her tail between her legs and you looking like you're ready to go a few rounds - whad I miss?"

Sam sat at the table that a staff member had just righted and took a deep breath, "Nothing - but I sure could use that drink now."

Carly looked at her and was about to press for details but decided to grab the bottle first. She returned to find Simeon taking a seat next to Sam. "You're not from Port Charles - what're you doing here?" She asked.

He took his eyes off Sam to grin up at Carly who poured Sam a drink before she sat down and poured herself one too.

"No, I live a town over…this is just a lucky coincidence." He had that same harmless smile that Carly wasn't impressed by in Mexico and it wasn't working for her at home either.

"How so?" She pressed, clearly letting him know that she noticed that he hadn't explained his presence in her hotel. The man seemed harmless enough but something about him set her sensors off and Carly prided herself on her instincts. She knew it could just be that she felt protective because he was clearly honing in on Sam, and Carly wanted badly for her friends to work things out and get back on track. She knew firsthand how they felt about each other, and it was only a matter of time before they both remembered too. She didn't want anything getting in the way when they did.

"I'm here for tonight only - early business meeting in this hotel. Stopped in to grab a drink just in time to see Sammy Slugger getting ready for a match - thought I'd say hello and save a life." The broad smile was on his face again as he stared at Sam who was quietly sipping her drink and listening to the two disinterestedly.

Carly was momentarily side-tracked as she turned back to Sam, "Yeah what was that about? What'd the slut want this time?" She was sorry that she had been stuck upstairs dealing with a demanding guest when there was Webber ass kicking to dish out.

Sam brushed off the incident with a small wave of her hand, "Just more of her same ole everyday bullshit. I don't want to talk about her - where are the girls?"

"Running behind, as usual - they'll be here in a few."

"Oh, good - the whole gang's coming! Mind if I join you ladies for the evening? I don't know anyone in Port Charles and you'd be saving me from a lonely meal at the bar, drowning in my scotch." Simeon had no intention of leaving when he'd found Sam again.

Carly wasn't keen on the idea and Sam just shrugged her shoulders noncommittally when Carly asked with her eyes, so she let it go. "Suit yourself, it's just going to be a lot of boring girl talk. I'm pretty sure you'll take off running by the time dinner gets here."

They had just ordered dinner when Jason walked through the door and headed over to the bar. Sam watched him say something to the bartender who then handed him a takeout bag before he turned to head back out…which was when he spotted them. She watched him openly as he walked to the table - his sculpted physique had always been something so very yummy to look at and she had to admit that he just seemed to get better with age! She stopped herself when she realized she was biting her lower lip, but not before noticing that she'd been caught. They both knew what that look on her meant, having acted out her ensuing dirty thoughts many a times.

Sam took a well needed gulp from her drink and looked away from Jason to the table just as he came to stop by Carly, staring at Sam. "Hi."

Carly was the first to answer. "Jason, hi." She got up and hugged him, prodding "come sit with us - we just ordered dinner." She beamed at her best friend as she thanked goodness he'd shown up.

Jason held up the bag in his hand, "just got some takeout for the room." His face had started to Harden when he noticed Simeon, not missing how the man's body leaned towards Sam - a subtle territorial indication to anyone looking that he was there with her.

"Takeout? You have a menu in your room and the entire staff have instructions to give you anything you need - but you come down here instead of getting room service?"

"Different menu in the bar." He finally tore his eyes away from Sam and the idiot to look at his friend. "Why the hell do you have fig jam on hamburgers? That fufu menu in the rooms has nothing I can eat."

Sam smiled to herself when his statement reminded her how very simple and easy to please her husband was. With Jason Morgan, what you see is what you get and that was how he liked things and the people around him - straightforward and to the point. Food was for nourishing your body, for Jason it didn't need to be fancy or pretty - he couldn't care less about that stuff.

"You could order the burger without the fig jam." Sam couldn't help teasing him, his returned smirk-smile stabbing her heart with longing. He was so damn beautiful!

"Why is it on the burger in the first place?" He teased back.

Sam shrugged her shoulders, the smile traveling from her face to reach her heart. "You'd have to ask Miss Boojy Five Star over there."

Carly didn't miss the look between them, "You two are _exactly_ alike! What's wrong with giving the menu a little class, huh?" she asked, feigning hurt indignation while reminding them how similar they were.

"Nothing - if that's what you call inedible crap on the menu in a five star hotel." They knew they'd pay later for teasing her but she made it way too easy. Sam laughed openly that time, her head moving back slightly, tossing her raven lochs over the back of the chair. God, she's beautiful, Jason thought as he watched her exposed neck and wished he could taste it right then. He'd gladly exchanged the meal in his hand for just one lick below her ear. Just then he noticed that the man sitting next to her hadn't missed the sight either and instantly Jason wanted to deck him. "Who're you?" He didn't try to be icy but nothing but a cold sound came out.

Carly was quick with the introduction as Sam seemed to realize how close he was sitting by her and moved slightly away from him. "This is Simeon - he's a guest here. He just stopped to say hello because we met him in Cabo and he saw us having dinner. He's leaving tomorrow. Only one night in town, isn't that right Simeon?"

Jason noticed Sam's distinct move away from the man, even if the besotted fool failed to. His wife was never one to play games and that guy was clearly not her type. Then again, he thought sadly, he'd foolishly gotten himself kicked out of the running so who's to say her taste hadn't changed. Right away Jason disliked him - even before he knew the man's name.

Simeon was smiling over at Sam as he answered Carly, "Well that was the original plan, but now…I might need to stick around for another day or two."

Carly got boisterous at the insinuation, "Hey! Romeo! Let me introduce my best friend here - Sam's _husband_ , Jason Morgan!"

They all saw the smile drop instantly from his face and smiling green eyes turned to slivers of marble as he rose from the table to face Jason. "Jason Morgan? Mob enforcer Jason Morgan?" He seemed highly interested in the answer.

Jason sized up the loaded question that sounded like a challenge, not bothering to answer the man. It was Carly who added, "One and the same," trying to warn the poor fool before he got himself in deep shit.

Simeon looked from Jason down to where Sam sat watching them. "I'm sorry, Sam - I didn't realize you were married. You weren't wearing a ring or anything."

Sam pursed her lips in a frown as she said, "No harm, no foul Simeon." It was either that or ramble on about how she and Jason weren't married anymore but things were complicated between them since they were trying to work things out but the issues they faced were intimidating. That thought reminded her what the main issue between them was and how they had let it branch out into so many aspects of their relationship, and suddenly she wanted to kick the bitch's ass again.

"I guess I'll say goodnight then. See you around, Sam." He nodded in Carly and Jason's direction before taking off, whipping out his cell phone as he exited the bar. Out of sight of the trio, Simeon shot a quick glance back towards them before placing a discreet phonecall. "Guess who's back?"


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Back at the table Jason wanted to know who the man was but knew he had no right to ask. He also had no right to the jealous rage building up inside him but his feelings for Sam hadn't always been rational or normal, and he'd given up trying to explain them. He hated seeing another man around her but Sam was a beautiful, confident woman, so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she had other male attention. Didn't mean he had to like it though.

"Will you come today?"

She nodded, "I'll be there."

Carly didn't miss any of the body language spoken between the two - she didn't know what they were talking about but Sam and Jason had always had a language all their own so she was far from surprised. She was just glad to see that the little mishap with Simeon hadn't angered the couple, making her confident they were on their way back to each other - they just moved at a snail's pace - always had.

A couple hours later Jason and Sam turned up at Dr. Collins' office. They passed Elizabeth in the hallway outside but neither acted like they noticed her. Sam smiled to herself when she saw the way Jason didn't even flinch when they walked past. That bitch had burned more bridges than she'd built and she was finally getting her just rewards.

They were right on time so they got started right away. Kevin pointed out the difference he noticed compared to their last session where the tension was extremely high. In this session they easily sat next to each other on the couch, not touching but definitely not the previously noted mile apart either.

"So, Jason, Sam - what's been going on since you were here last?"

Jason looked over at his wife and she replied, "Well…I took an unplanned sojourn south of the border." She smiled almost shyly at Jason as she explained to Kevin how he'd surprised her, finishing almost inaudibly, "That was sweet."

Kevin nodded approvingly, "Very nice, Jason. I think you two can really benefit from some time together, outside of these walls as well."

Jason looked down at his lap when he replied, "We did't travel together. It wasn't about me."

"So you wanted Sam to take some time to herself to think about it all in a neutral setting? Good for you - Sam, do you have a new outlook on things? Did you make any decisions that will affect your relationship with Jason?"

Jason almost expected her to mention the Simeon guy and didn't realize he was holding his breath until he let it out when she replied, "I had a relaxing time with friends - really didn't dwell too much on the chaos I left here." She took a deep breath as it all seemed to come back to her, events from the afternoon replaying in her mind. "That never lasts for very long anyway!"

"Would you like to elaborate, Sam?"

She started looking at her hands also. "Not really," but knowing she couldn't get away with that in a counseling session she sighed and continued, "I just can't seem to get away from any of it. Every time I turn around, everywhere I go, it all returns to smack me dab in the face. Every single time!" Her voice got lower again, "There are just so many things I'd like to do over, and I can't. I can't change any of it."

Jason was curious to find out what she was referring to. Something in her voice had him worried. "What things, did something happen?"

Sam closed her eyes and shook her head, "Nothing short of my least shining moment making an appearance." Her voice was so soft he barely heard her…but he heard.

Jason understood right away what she was referring to. Nothing had torn Sam up as much as the kidnapping incident with his son. "Sam, you've apologized and apologized to me and to Elizabeth - we worked past that a long time ago - please stop beating yourself up over ancient history."

She turned to look at him with pain in her eyes. "But it's not is it, Jason? I don't think it ever will be. I _froze_ , Jason. I saw it happening and I was so wrapped up in watching her live the life I wanted so badly for us that I froze, watching to see how she would handle the situation. But while I was watching her with her perfect hair and her perfect name giving you the perfect son I'd wanted to give you so badly…while I stood there and thought about what _I_ was missing, a disturbed woman took off with your son." The tears started coming as she relived the hurt from so many years ago. "By the time I realized what had happened and that she'd taken off with him I was so ashamed of my inaction that I just tried to bury it, Jason. I couldn't tell you that I was there and didn't do anything. I couldn't tell you that I was frozen in place with jealousy and hurt and I was barely paying attention to anything else but _her_. I envied her sooo much! I wanted what she had so desperately that it blinded me to everything else. I'm so sorry, Jason. I'm so sorry for letting Maureen take Jake! I should have stopped her and if I had it all to do again I swear I wouldn't have let her take him. I would give my life to protect your son, Jason - I swear!"

She was sobbing so hard that he couldn't stop himself from reaching for her. Forget her not wanting to be touched - he needed to hold her, to make the hurting stop. "Shhh, Sam - it's okay. I know all that - I know you're sorry. Shhhh." He hushed her as he rocked her in his arms, but only a minute had passed before she broke free snifflingly, "How can you say that? You _should_ hate me forever. I didn't help your innocent little baby - how could you ever truly forgive me for that?"

"I do forgive you, Sam! I forgave you years ago and you know that!" He grabbed her hands and bent his head to catch her eyes and force her to look at him, "We forgave each other a long time ago, why are you doubting it now? What happened to make you this distraught over something that we put behind us when we moved on and got married?"

Kevin interjected quietly, "Sam, Jason obviously has forgiven you - maybe its time that you forgive yourself."

She hung her head again, "I'll never forgive myself. He was just a baby." She sobbed again as she sputtered, "Imagine that happening to Danny!"

Jason's heart tore to see her in so much pain and he felt powerless to help. "It **_did_** happen to Danny! Our son was taken from us and he was gone for **_months_** , Sam…and Jake's mother, who had gone through the pain of having not one but **_two_** of her own children kidnapped, still had the heart to play a part in trying to keep Danny from us…and **_she_** wasn't going through emotional turmoil from having her life turned upside down by someone she trusted. Please don't tell me you're worked up over something that she said to you - she's the last person who should point fingers or cast stones, and I won't allow you to beat yourself up like this - **_look at me, Sam_**!" He waited for her to make eye contact before he continued, "You risked your own life to save Jake, I was there - I remember! It's because of you that he wasn't blown to bits in that housefire! I don't care what Elizabeth says, you made up for your mistake and on top of that you've grown so much, Sam! _I_ see it, your family and friends see it, anybody who knows anything about you has seen it. Why can't you?" He clasped her hands tighter in his, "Why can't you see the _phenomenal_ woman I see every time I look at you?"

Kevin prodded her again, "What is it, Sam. What is at the heart of your doubts about Jason and you?"

At first she was quiet, reflecting on the question as she pulled the sniffles under control. They were both waiting for her answer and she was starting to feel scrutinized but she shrugged and said, "I don't know that I can trust it again. I don't truly feel that he won't go back to believing everything she says and rationalizing and forgiving everything she does."

She ventured a quick look at Jason, seeing the pained expression on his face as he listened to her continue. "You _always_ back her! No matter what you always gave her a pass while the rest of us were taken to task for messing up. She cheated with you, snuck around and slept with you while she was still married, lied to you and to her husband about the paternity of her baby, then convinced you that you should give up your son, cheated on her fiancé **_again_** with his **_brother_** , blamed you when you thought your son was dead saying it happened because you didn't choose a life with her, almost killed you in a car crash, attempted to leave our kidnapped son in the care of a stranger and make me go on believing he was dead, tried over and over to drive a wedge between us…and you still loved her. You still defended and trusted her!"

The tears brimmed her eyes again but she was angry too, "I _froze_! I froze and fell to the lowest point I had ever been in my life and you _hated_ me! You threatened to _kill_ me you hated me so much! You chose _her_! So why wouldn't I have doubts, Jason? Why wouldn't I believe that it's only a matter of time before you go running back there?" He reached for her again but she rose from the couch and stomped over to the window, looking out at nothing in particular.

Jason's nostril flared as his eyes watered and his breath suddenly ached in his chest. "You're never coming back to me, are you?" His lip quivered with the devastating realization that she was truly done and he could barely breathe. "I've really lost you for good this time haven't I?"

Sam didn't answer, she couldn't. The sobs caught in her throat and she wanted to be able to reassure him but she really couldn't. She loved him so much, always had and probably always would. She had forgiven and accepted everything about him - the emotional short comings, the crazy schedule and litany of crazy people in his life and in their business, she'd even accepted the mountain of baggage that came with him because loving him had always been worth it for her. The unconditional way that he had loved her had always been worth everything she endured to be with him, but in this moment there was one price she didn't intend to pay ever again. No matter the crime, he had always forgiven the vindictive, insensitive, cruel woman and had given her free reign to wreak whatever havoc she wanted…she would never go through that again. With her back turned to him Sam hugged herself as she listened to Kevin try to mediate once again.

"Ahem…I think maybe Jason, you should tell Sam how you really feel about everything she's been through to be with you - it might hel…" Kevin was cut off as Jason stormed towards the door.

"I have to go!" That was it, and he was gone, leaving Sam to turn around and stare at the door in confusion, before it dawned on her where he'd go.

Elizabeth grabbed the hamper of warm clothes from the dryer and headed up the stairs from the basement, cursing what had become of her life. Not so long ago she had a partner who shared all the mundane chores with her, someone who wanted to share forever with her - now she was back to being a single mother of three with no job, no lover, and someday soon she could find herself with no freedom. "Screw you Sam - screw yyouuuu!" She screamed into the air as she turned the corner to the living room, only to stop short at the sight of Jason standing in the middle of her living room. "J-Jason!" All she got out was his name before he pounced toward her, upon her so fast that her instinct sent her crashing back against the wall. Elizabeth's eyes bulged with panic as she struggled to catch her breath as she rammed into the unyielding wall. He was practically fuming at the mouth, his face in an enraged sneer as he shoved it right up to hers, practically touching nose to nose. For a split second her confused mind thought he meant to kiss her, but then she raised frenzied eyes to see his and the thought vanished before it even took shape. Jason was nowhere in the icy blue depths of the stonecold killer before her who was practically snarling as his eyes brimmed with unshed tears, his mighty fist coming up to land furiously next to her head. Elizabeth heard the shattering of painted stucco following his monstrous roar and she knew she was dead.

She dropped the basket as she stared terrified into the eyes that once held such warmth for her and her fear catapulted when all she saw was cold, cold hate - the taut stretch of his lips pursed angrily together accenting the hand squeezing his fingers shut and showing white knuckles where he wanted to slam at her throat. "Jason - please….Jason." She wept his name repeatedly as her frantic whispers seemed to fall on deaf ears. "Please…"

With a grunt and another roar he punched a new hole in the wall next to her head as he backed away to watch her fall in a heap on the floor, her shaky knees giving way under her. She gasped giant gulps trying frantically to send oxygen through her lungs as he kicked the nearby chair to send it crashing into the wall, yelling once again in pent up frustration.

Pacing for a second, he then came to stand over her as her breathing leveled out and the black dots disappeared. "You made her leave me. She's finally had enough and nothing I do will fix it, all because of you!" He was so cold. "I could fucking kill you!"

He knelt down next to her and Elizabeth instinctively tried to scramble back further into the wall to get away from the anger directed straight at her. She had never in her life feared Jason Morgan until recently, this moment bringing her the most dread as she knew he meant every word he was saying to her. "Ever since that night I slept with you, you've been nothing but a parasitic plaque on my life. I was blind to you hurting her in the worst ways, telling myself she was seeing spite where there wasn't any because you were good and kind and generous to a fault. How fucking stupid was I? Thinking I loved you just because a fucking condom was no good? But she was right about you…she was right all along - look what you did to our lives just in the last year alone?"

The disgusted look on his face and the stinging words from his mouth made her feel small and insectile, and she had never wanted to disappear as much as she did right then.

"I hate you, I fucking hate you and if you weren't the mother of the child I love so much I would kill you right this fucking second!"

She buried her head in her hands and wept. How had it all come to this?

He rose to his feet and with a sweep of his arm across the nearby sofa table he sent everything crashing across the room. " ** _She's worth a million of you_**!" He bellowed as he repeated the action on the mantel, the pictures of them sailing to land near her feet as glass shattered and splintered everywhere. Elizabeth yelled in fright and drew her knees up to her chin, her head still in her hands as she wept.

"Jason, stop!" She heard the sound as another crash sounded across the room as he'd moved on to the bookshelf near the window. "Stop this!" She peeped out to see Sam rushing to Jason, grabbing his arm as she pleaded with him to calm down. "Jason, no. Please baby, no."

Elizabeth couldn't believe it - almost immediately he stopped tearing her house apart, his face fading into calm as he studied the woman by his side, the touch of her hand on his arm alone seeming to soothe him. Elizabeth saw her reach out to touch the side of his face with her palm and there was no missing the way he leant into that palm, sighing deeply as he took another calming breath. It was like watching the taming of a savage beast, and she had to admit to herself finally, that those two had a connection like nothing she knew. He'd certainly never been like that with her.

"Sam," was all she heard him say before giant arms lunged out to wrap the tiny brunette to a huge chest as she sobbed and buried her head in his neck. Elizabeth watched as they clung to each other as if one or the other would vanish into thin air if they let go, and she felt like a puny intruder to an inner sanctuary that held no room for her.

Jason couldn't believe she was there. He'd lost her, forever this time, he was sure. She'd never look at him with love or longing ever again, she'd never let herself feel safe in the refuge of his arms as she always had - he thought she was done. But then he heard her angelic voice and felt her satin touch and his upsided world was right side again. Just like that he could see more than red as she came to his arms. He lifted her clear off the ground and buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent deeply. She was here, in this bitter, callous place with a shrew of a woman where his love had come to die, she was here and in his arms giving him life once again. Jason breathed in and held that breath for as long as he could, basking in the feel of her soft, curvy body locked within the confines of his arms. He wanted to keep her there always.

"It's okay, Jason." Sam practically cooed as she soothed her savage beast, "We're going to be okay, baby."

Finally he placed her delicate, booted feet back on solid ground but his arms held steadfast to his love as he gazed upon her beautiful face, noting that she'd been crying. "Promise!"

She hugged his waist and squeezed him tight to her body. "I promise! We'll work it out, let's go, Jason. We'll work it all out."

Elizabeth couldn't believe it and if she hadn't witnessed it for herself she doubted that she ever would. Those two seemed to be in a world of their own speaking a language known only to them, completely oblivious to everyone and everything else around. She watched in shocked awe as they walked through the front door, Sam leading the way as she clung to Jason's hand, looking back at him every few moments as though in reassurance, leaving the door wide open as they disappeared from view. The nurse surveyed the wreckage in her home and the body-heaving sobs wracked her endlessly. He'd never been like that with her - _never_ \- not once. He'd never been that threatening and she had never had that kind of calming effect upon him. He had never loved her like that!


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Sam sat studying his sleeping face and she marveled at its serene calm compared to the raging state she'd found him in the night before. Even during bouts of extreme anger, Jason had always been able to mask his feelings from people when he wanted to, it was a skill he taught himself that had served him well in his chosen profession, but she had always been able to know his true feelings. She had always been able to tell when he was hurting, or confused, or sad - even behind his most rigid mask, she could always tell how he was really doing.

That's why when she found him tearing the nurse's house to shreds she knew she had to calm him quickly. He really wanted to hurt her. Sam found that startling, because as much as it devastated her when he had threatened her own life to protect the woman and her children, she had never felt any physical threat from him. Hearing him say the words had cut her deeply and still hurt her heart - she wouldn't have thought that he could ever say something like that to her, but she'd never felt like he would actually be able to do it. He'd broken a glass at her place in frustration of her glib handling of the serious situation but that had been the extent of his destructive behavior in her presence. She had barely blinked at that, but when she'd walked through the door the night before and seen Elizabeth cowered in a corner and Jason raging like a bull in a china shop, she literally feared for what he'd do to the nurse. There would never come a day when she wouldn't hate the very sight of the woman but she could never let Jason go to prison for killing someone as worthless as Elizabeth Webber.

He stirred on the couch and she shifted slightly in the opposite chair as she realized her eyes were locked on the lines of his handsome face, his short sandy blonde hair slightly ruffled from sleep. Her gaze moved to the chiseled outline of his vast chest and she smiled to herself, "I know you're not sleeping anymore." The rhythm had changed from the even rise and fall of earlier.

She saw his tiny returned smile even as his eyes remained closed. "Must be losing my touch." He opened his eyes slowly and blinked as they came into focus, resting on her crosslegged in the chair where she watched him from across the coffee table. "Good morning, beautiful!"

She was breathtaking to Jason. He'd never noticed yoga pants until Sam started rocking them at home with tees, and to this day it was one of his favorite things to see her wear. The little pink sleeveless top she wore this morning reminded him of the star necklace that he'd placed on her so many years before and he couldn't stop his eyes from leaving her gorgeous face to travel to her neck where it once had never left, on down to the peaked paradise behind the pink cloth. She was wearing nothing beneath the top and as her tantalizing nipples laughed at him in their perfection he realized that blood was rushing from his brain to pool elsewhere, forcing him to change direction of his eyes and prompting a quick move into a sitting position and a change of subject. Quick!

"Is Danny up yet?" Their son was a safe topic that would change the course of his thoughts and calm his rushing blood.

Sam smiled to herself again as she pulled a knee up to her chest, setting her foot flat on the chair. He was always cute when he blushed and she knew exactly what that meant. "Not yet. Krissy kept him up late again watching some inappropriate movie with her. Did you see how guilty she looked when she left here last night? I had to sleep in his bed half the night just to calm him down."

Jason looked over to her as he sombered, "Speaking of calm - thank you for what you did last night, and thank you for letting me stay. I don't think I could've spent the night alone." She had always known what he needed.

"Of course," she answered softly. She would always know what he needed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He was still looking at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. "Not really." He got quiet for a second then found that he wanted to explain to her. "I couldn't handle the thought that you were done for good this time and I just got really angry when I thought about _why_."

"And… _who_?" Her voice remained soft as she prodded him to let it out, not wanting to run the risk of it happening again because he kept the rage bottled up inside him. She wouldn't lose him to Elizabeth Webber - wouldn't let her son lose one more moment with him because of the woman and from what she saw the night before, he was angry enough to go back and snap her neck.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry before it becomes tiresome to hear, but I'm sorry that I allowed her anywhere near our lives. I'm so sorry for everything that I turned a blind eye to that allowed her to hurt you so much."

She nodded and looked to her raised knee where she toyed with the imaginary lint on her pants. "She did hurt me, and she hurt Danny." Her voice dropped low again as she added, "But she hurt you too, didn't she?"

Jason looked at the way she was twisting pouted lips to the side and her earnest digging at lint. "Yes, she did hurt me but it's what she did to your lives that makes me so angry. I've never not been truthful with her, Sam. She's always known how I feel about my family, so for her to do the things that she did - to purposely hurt you and Danny that way - it's not something I can forgive." He ran a frustrated hand through his short hair. "She didn't care what my death did to you, to Monica, to Carly and Michael - she didn't care about anybody but herself and that's not the person I thought that I knew, so yes - that hurt. Knowing that I was losing you forever and it was her fault? Yes, that hurt like hell and I wanted her dead!"

"But she's Jake's mother." Sam pointed out the obvious and Jason nodded in agreement, knowing she was right.

"I can't devastate my son by physically harming his mother…but she is as good as dead to me." He looked at her pleadingly, "Just please tell me that she didn't succeed in driving you away from me? Tell me I still have a chance to win you back?"

"Last night I didn't think there was anywhere left for us to go. I seriously thought… _this is it_! But then, the way you stormed out and the way you choked up right before…I realized you would go directly to find her and I knew I had to come find you. I didn't know what I'd be walking in on but what I did was not it." She remembered hearing the loud crash as she walked up to the door and fearing that she'd been too late to stop the bloodshed. The thought of a world without Elizabeth Webber in it didn't fill her with regret of any kind, but she knew once he calmed down that the guilt of hurting his child's mother would eat Jason up. She knew he'd never be able to face his son with that guilt, so she prayed she was in time to stop it. She would stop it for Jason and for Jake - she realized then that she would still do anything for Jason.

"I'm sorry if I scared you."

"If I was scared it was of you going to jail. I don't care that you went off on her, she deserves it. She essentially controlled all our lives for seven months - putting us in her little assigned boxes and pulling our strings like puppets, to get what she wanted. She kept you from our son, acted like Danny didn't exist while selfishly encouraging a bond with you and Jake…who she also robbed because she couldn't tell you he was your son. I don't give a damn about the woman - she can rot in hell for all I care…but I was scared out of my mind for you."

Her words gave him hope. "You said we would work it out…did you mean that?"

Sam looked down at her knee as she didn't answer but asked instead, "Did you mean what you said to her?"

"I meant everything I said to her!" He waited for her to look at him so he wouldn't miss her eyes and she wouldn't miss his words, "You're worth a million Elizabeth Webbers, and I have known that for a very long time. Your strength and loyalty alone put you lightyears ahead of her! Add in everything else about you that blows my mind and there is absolutely **_no_** competition - your huge heart, your compassion, your drive and determination, your complete selflessness, and the powerful way that you love…you blow her out of the water without even trying!" He looked her up and down hungrily and added, "And on top of all that you're the most beautiful woman in the world, Sam!" He knew that last part probably sounded like a line to her but it was how he felt.

"Daddy!" Jason turned around to see his son stepping off the landing to head towards him, sleep obviously still in his eyes as he rubbed and yawned.

"Hey buddy!" Danny walked right into his father's outstretched arms and yawned again as he was hoisted to Jason's lap. "What's the matter little man, you're still sleepy?"

Sam watched her son as he laid back in Jason's arms and nodded his little blond head against his chest, and her heart filled with pride and pure joy. She'd always wanted that - to give Jason a son and watch their precious moments together. He was still the most beautiful sight with a baby in his arms and she couldn't stop the smile that pushed at the corners of her mouth as her heart filled watching him with theirs. "Good morning sleepyhead! Look how tired you are from late night with Aunt Krissy?"

Jason planted a kiss on his son's head as he rocked him quietly in his arms. His beautiful boy had been right there for so long without him knowing he was his son and he hated to think of all the time that he and Danny had been robbed of. It made him detest Elizabeth even more. She knew that when he " _died_ " he'd had no idea that Danny was his and he'd already missed out on his first months and Sam's pregnancy. She knew that he had reunited with Sam and planned on raising Danny with her and she knew first hand how regretful he'd felt about giving up Jake. That she could still not tell him about Danny - that she was willing to let his son spend his whole life not knowing his father's love, was reprehensible, and if he lived to be a thousand that's exactly how long he would never forgive her for it. People who were that selfish, that self centered and manipulative would run over anyone to get what they wanted and she was willing to run over his innocent little boy. He had no use for the woman and although he loved and would never regret Jake, he sorely regretted the drunken night that created a lifetime bond with his deceitful mother. He looked over at his wife and he sorely regretted all the time that he had spent away from her arms.

"I love you, Sam! And I love this little guy so much…thank you for giving me Danny!" He looked down at his son who had fallen back asleep and Jason kissed his head again, his lips smacking softly as he smelled his little boy smell and reveled in the feel of him in his arms while he watched his innocent little face relaxed in sleep. This was what he had missed out on - this was what the evil bitch tried to keep him from!

Sam said nothing as she rested her head back on the chair and watched him take Danny back upstairs to put him back to bed. She knew where his thoughts had gone and she knew she'd need to keep him busy to stop him from rationalizing going back to terrorize Elizabeth some more. She didn't need a trip to the police station and having to explain his absence to Danny once again, so she formulated a plan of action to keep him calm.

As soon as he came back down she hit him with, "Let's do something today, something as a family!" She knew he'd be all over that and a day with Danny was exactly what he'd need to get him back to Jason. "Let's get Jake too and head into the city for the day!"

Jason looked at her beautiful face and thought again why he loved her so, so much. She had every right to treat his son like the spawn of Satan, given the woman's crimes against hers, but his Sam never would. She would always welcome his son - despite the circumstances of his birth, and she would love him and care for him just because he was his. It was times like these when he chastised himself the most for lying to her in the first place. He knew her! He should've known that Sam would've welcomed Jake from the start and that he should've never allowed himself to be led into lying to her to begin with. Their lives would be so different now - would be so much more!

He sat back down on the sofa and smiled at her, "Okay - let's do it! Sounds like fun!"

She got up laughing as she headed to the kitchen, "Wow…Jason Morgan wanting to have _fun_ \- will wonders never cease!"

He smiled as he threw his head back over the couch to look at her upside down as she entered the kitchen. "Wait a minute - where you going?" He feared the answer he knew was coming.

Sam stopped and turned to look back at him. "Danny won't sleep for long - I'm going to make breakfast!"

He sprang from the couch and rushed towards her, "Oh, no…don't worry about that - I got it!"

She opened her mouth and looked at him with mocked indignation, "Hey now - I can make breakfast! I can cook a few dishes now, I'll have you know!"

He came to a stop directly in front of her. Man she was beautiful! He openly admired her tousled lochs cascading to her shoulders as her chest heaved in indignation to his implications against her cooking. She was going to kill him with that beautiful chest! "Since when?" He doubled over playfully when she punched him lightly in the gut as he grabbed her hand - her soft, pliant, delicate yet deadly hand.

"I haven't exactly been keeping my son alive on takeout alone, and Danny loves my cooking!"

"My poor son! It's okay, I'm here now - he won't have to pretend to like burned toast and blackened chicken anymore."

She moved to punch him again but he held her hand fast against his chest as he laughed lightly down at her, loving the soft contours of her face as her bright smile lit up her eyes. He continued, "I'll call Audrey and tell her I'm going to pick up Jake and then **_I'll_** make us a light breakfast while you go get ready."

"Fine!" She huffed and slapped him with her other hand as she moved around him towards the stairs, "But one of these days I will make you eat your words!"

Jason watched her climb the stairs and he couldn't stop smiling as he thought about how much he'd missed this with her. He loved being around her - always had. She was so light and easy going that she never failed to put him at ease - except for when he pissed her off and boy - watch out then! He shook his head and entered the familiar kitchen, loving every minute spent with his family.

Less than two hours later they were on the road to New York City. They'd had breakfast and Jason made a quick stop by the hotel so he could shower and change, then he'd picked up Jake from his grandmother and gone back to get Sam and Danny. The drive alone was worth it for Jason as he kept glancing at his two boys in the back of the SUV, talking up a storm and laughing together, sharing action figures between them. He thought of a time when he was so alone, Carly, Sonny and their boys his only family, but then he'd had to leave them and go home to a cold, empty penthouse that was just a place to lay his head. He thought about how he'd gotten used to the loneliness, thinking that was all he deserved in life. Then the little spitfire entered his interrogation room and that life had never been the same again. He glanced from the happy boys in the back over to the bombshell brunette relaxing next to him and his heart filled to capacity. She had changed _everything_ for him. He had to get his life with her back - he just had to!

Sam was happy. She thought what a good idea it was to spend the day together. Jason needed it as much as his boys did, and as she looked from one to the other and reveled in the boys' ease with each other, she knew that she needed to give them the chance to make things right again. She remembered when it was just her and her brother Danny, how after he passed away Jason was the only family she had left. She remembered how badly she'd wanted a child, Jason's child - and now she had him! Along the way she'd also found a mother and two little sisters whom she adored, and now with her little blonde miracle who was nothing short of a gift from God, she knew her family was incomplete without his father. She glanced over to the man who'd stolen her heart all those years ago and she knew she needed to give him the chance to make things right. Their family would benefit from it and he had been trying so very hard to find his way back to them. She finally believed after the night before, that he was done with the wicked nurse, believed his eyes had finally been opened to her true character and for him there was no excusing her actions. Sam had never doubted that he loved her but she had doubted how much more he might have loved someone else, but she had those doubts no more, and while she had never discouraged his relationship with their son she had held him at arms length away from her own heart. She wouldn't fight him anymore. She'd give her heart free license to ease him back in, because that's where he belonged and she knew that. She also knew that he'd never really left, but she had blocked him into a box and left it locked.

Coney Island was a blast for the boys and as the proud, happy parents watched them frolic and play all day, they wished they could keep them elated and innocent, shielded from the world's wrath and its disappointments forever. They glowed watching them inhale Nathan's hotdogs, and the bumper car rides where they formed teams and competed against each other were thrilling for kids and adults alike. With Jake in her lap, Sam aimed their car straight for Jason where he had Danny in his, both boys laughing maniacally when their cars closely missed each other only to get bumped by another. They allowed the boys to steer after that, pretending to scream for their lives every time they hit or got hit by someone else. The parents' hearts filled with the gleeful laughter of their children as they went from ride to ride delighting in an afternoon spent being little boys. They saved the Wonder Wheel for last, knowing that Danny and Jake would get a kick out of zooming through the air on a rollercoaster that lighted up with neon lights, and when dusk fell and they watched them throw their hands up as they roared towards the ground, both Jason and Sam knew that they had made the right call for their little family. Jason also made up his mind about something else that he ran by Sam as they headed back home, both boys zonked out in the back of the SUV.

His voice was quiet as he told her, "I need to get him away from her. I cannot allow her to corrupt or neglect him anymore - he's a wonderful kid! I have to get him out of there."

Sam turned her head as it laid against the headrest and she couldn't agree more, "You should call Diane when you get home. The sooner the better - for him, and for you!"

Jason didn't realize he had been holding his breath waiting for her answer. If she didn't want to raise Elizabeth's son he didn't know what he'd do. He wanted his family back and he wanted desperately for Sam to want Jake to be a part of it too, and then he cursed himself again for even doubting her. He knew how big her heart was - of course she would welcome his son too! Reaching for her hand where it laid on the console between them he brought it to his lips and kissed it adoringly, lingering for a second before he said, "Thank you, Sam!" He glanced at his sleeping sons and added, "And thank you for today - this was a wonderful idea!"

The drama started the minute they got back to town, Elizabeth being at her grandmother's house supposedly to pick up the other two boys when the SUV pulled up. She made quite a show of telling her grams that Jason was not allowed near her son without her permission ever again, how he was violent and unpredictable and she feared for her son's safety. She was livid he'd been allowed to take Jake. She even had the nerve to try to pull Sam into her animation.

"You were there last night - you saw what he did to my house!'

Sam rolled her eyes at the woman, "What the hell are you taking about? My husband and I had a counseling session last night then we went home together. You need to check your medication, and if you're not on some you should seriously think about getting a prescription because you're batshit crazy! You probably tore up your own damn house trying to frame Jason but you better think again!" Sam grabbed Jason's hand and pulled him towards the SUV. "C'mon babe - let's get our baby home."

Jason held her in place for a minute while he used his free hand to whip his phone out and dialed a number. "Diane, I need you to file for custody of my son first thing tomorrow morning. I will not have him in this tragic situation with this crazy woman any longer." He listened as she consented, then said goodnight, staring bugged eyed Elizabeth in the face the whole time. Turning around he pulled his wife with him and opened her door, completely ignoring the banshee screams coming from behind him.

"You cannot do this! I will never let you take my baby, do you hear me? Over my dead body will you take my son from me, Jason! You're a murderer - you'll never get my baby from me!"

He slammed his door shut, drowning out the nonsense before he turned to check on his sleeping son in the backseat, took his wife's hand again, gave her a smile then put the SUV in gear, leaving the seething garbage in his rearview.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

In the wee hours of the next morning Sam was awakened by a strange sound coming from downstairs. She opened her eyes to meet the darkened bedroom and listened carefully for sounds of Danny, but it wasn't her son roaming around downstairs or watching early morning cartoons…it had sounded more like a thud and then…nothing! Sitting up in bed, she listened keenly then she heard another sound - not a thud this time but more like a creak, the type the bottom stair made when you hit just the right spot. She'd been meaning to have it looked at but hadn't gotten around to calling the building maintenance, what with her life in chaotic upheaval in recent months and all. Sam thought maybe it was Danny after all but something in her gut told her it wasn't. Looking over quickly to the nightstand clock she saw that it was only five thirty in the morning - no, her son would be in his bed still tired from an exhausting fun day out.

Throwing the covers back, Sam eased the drawer open and grabbed the lockbox that held her gun, hurriedly punching the combination then clicking the clip in place. Tiptoeing to her wide open bedroom door, she stuck her head out for a second to check the hallway, then seeing it clear she quickly tiptoed to her son's room across from hers and pushed open the slightly open door. She always left Danny's door like that so she could hear him if he woke up during the night. Her tyke was fast asleep as she thought he would be, so tiptoeing back to the door she looked out carefully into the hallway again. It was quiet now but the hair on the back of her neck were in full salute and her instincts were screaming intruder. Closing Danny's door all the way before easing along the wall with her back pressed closely against it, Sam tiptoed towards the stairs. She knew someone was headed up them and she suspected that he'd slowed down and was treading carefully after he heard the creak that the first one made, a fact that would get them face to face at the top of the stairs - she would be waiting in the dark the second he made that turn.

Just then a tall shadow came into view, arm bent at the elbow with a gun pointed to the ceiling as he headed for the bedrooms. By the time he saw Sam she had come off the wall with her foot flying out to connect with his gut, then as he doubled over in pain she grabbed his shoulders and added a well placed knee for added injury. As he started going down slowly, holding his gut and trying to breathe, Sam smashed the butt of her gun into the back of his hooded head. He landed with a resounding thump and she knew that if he had company they would have heard it downstairs. Listening for any footsteps on the stairs she hurriedly knelt by his side and grabbed his fallen gun, sighing to herself when she noticed he had a silencer. Good, any shots fired would not terrorize her son and leave him traumatized. Just as quickly feeling his pockets, Sam reached into the one where she felt a bulge, yanking out the prized goodies she found there.

She patted the masked man's shoulder as she laid her gun on his back and grabbed a limp arm, "Thanks for bringing your own bracelets to the party buddy!" Quickly she pulled the other arm behind him and secured both together with a zip tie, then his feet, using a third one to lace the two together, leaving the intruder hogtied with hands and feet bound behind him while she grabbed his silenced gun in her right hand, her own in the left. Muffled footsteps downstairs indicated to her that at least one more intruder was in play and he had just come out from the home-gym area, given where the footfalls had sounded. Not hearing anyone else and not waiting for him to climb the stairs to get anywhere near Danny, Sam ventured down, stopping on the landing with the first intruder's gun pointed at the head of the other, "Make one fucking move and it'll be your last!"

Sam groped the wall and flicked the switch to bathe the room in bright light, seeing him freeze as commanded, gun in his right hand at his side as he stood facing her. "Drop it and kick it towards me!" Her command was cold but he didn't comply, merely stared her down as though contemplating his wisest move. She shook her head slowly in an attempt to deter him from whatever he was thinking to do - bum rushing her his likely inclination. "Do it and you die! I said drop it!"

When he still made no move to listen Sam lowered the silenced gun slightly and fired, hitting the intruder in the leg and watching him drop to his knee as he yelled out in pain. "Think I'm joking? I will not tell you again!" She practically barked at him. Obviously not wanting to test another wrong theory, he placed the gun on the floor and slid it towards Sam who moved rapidly to scoop it up with the left hand still holding her own gun. "Don't you fucking move!"

He was grunting in angry pain as he glared at her moving past him, gun still trained at his head as she laid the others down and grabbed for the cordless phone off the sofa. She hit the redial button, Jason being the last person that she spoke to earlier. She knew when he dropped them off and headed to the hotel that he wouldn't be able to sleep and she had been right - he'd been up pacing and thinking about his upcoming custody battle, rattled that his past might indeed prevent him from getting his son from the crazy nurse. He picked up on the second ring, which led Sam to believe he'd still been awake.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Jason knew the moment he saw her number and he noticed what time it was. She had convinced him earlier that he would be able to show that he'd changed and was now living clean, while Elizabeth was facing jail and had less than a clean record herself, so his worries were less heavy and he'd been able to stop pacing. Sleep had eluded him still, thinking about Sam and Danny and how much he'd wanted Sam to ask him to stay. "What're you doing up - is it Danny?"

"Intruders!" She knew she wouldn't need to say more before he'd be on the move.

"Are you hurt? Where are they?" He was already grabbing his gun and stuffing his feet into his boots, moving rapidly to the door.

"No. Both neutralized."

Jason pushed the elevator button and cursed that it wasn't on his floor. He wanted to head for the stairs but knew the thing would be faster, watching it as it ascended from two floors below. "Okay, stay on the line, Sam!" He quickly conferenced in Sonny's number, running onto the elevator before the doors even opened all the way, relieved when he heard Sonny's sleepy "Yeah?"

"Sam and Danny are in trouble - I need backup at the penthouse!"

"You got it brother!" He heard the click as Sonny hung up and he looked at the elevator numbers again, which were decreasing but not fast enough for him.

"Sam, you sure you and Danny are okay?" His voice trembled as he thought about them there with likely armed strangers invading their home in the middle of the night. The doors opened to the garage and he ran frantically to his SUV.

Sam watched the masked man bleeding all over her floor, pressing down desperately on the wound to apply pressure, and there was something familiar about green eyes that turned to glare in her direction. "We're fine. I can hold these fools till you get here."

She sounded convincing but Jason wasn't sure there weren't more of them around. They could have a getaway driver who would soon wander in to find out what was taking so long - or more of them could be lurking in other rooms of the penthouse, or just outside in the hallway. Tires screeched as he roared through the quiet streets to get to his family - thank God they were only minutes away. If they were harmed in any way, anybody who hurt a hair on their heads would suffer a fate so much worse than death.

"Who are you?" Sam had the feeling like she knew those eyes. "What's the matter - can't face a **_girl_** like a **_man_** when you break into her home to shoot her in her sleep?" She waved the gun a couple times in his direction, "Take that thing off, now!"

Again he hesitated as he glared at her stubbornly, still kneeling on one knee as blood leaked through the fingers pressing hard to his other leg, cold green eyes moving from the gun in her hand to her face and back. They stared each other down for a while and Sam knew the minute he'd made his decision, seeing it in his eyes almost as instantly as he leapt to his feet, putting pained pressure on the injured one as he rushed angrily at her, running into a hard football tackle. She raised the gun but before she could fire he'd closed the distance and was upon her and just when she expected to feel herself flying across the room, she heard the resounding sound of bone breaking and watched in shock as the would-be linebacker went flying backward on his ass, yelping in pain as he landed on his bad leg.

Sam jumped aside in surprise, just then seeing that Jason had torn through the door just in time to see the masked man rushing towards her and landed a mighty punch to his jaw before he could touch her. She continued to watch with gun trained at the man as Jason bent over and grabbed him by the front of the shirt, heaving him off the floor and running him up against the wall, smashing him once then twice, then letting go a powerful, double uppercut to the gut. As the man doubled over in pain Jason yanked the ski mask from his head and grabbed a fistful of hair as he lifted it to see. "You!"

"Simeon?" Sam was upon them, her gun still trained on the man as Jason smashed him in the side of the face again, his voice deadly when he asked, "Who sent you here? Are you targeting my family?" He was just about to hit him again when Sam touched his arm and said, "Jason wait!" She knew that Jason would beat him to a pulp before they got anything out of him.

"Wait for what, Sam? Just let me kill him!" His face was a furious hard slate as he kept his fist clenched and raised to land on the man's jaw again, "Let me kill this son of a bitch!"

Sam kept her hand on his arm as she lowered it to his side and addressed the man, "You heard my husband. He doesn't make idle threats so you better start talking - who sent you here? What the hell do you want with us?"

Simeon was braced in a crouching position against the wall, eyeing the deadly enforcer with a new fear in his green eyes but he kept up a brave front as he spat blood from his mouth and wiped it with the back of his hand. "I have nothing to say to you!"

Just then Milo entered through the open penthouse door and rushed over to the couple, four more of Sonny's bodyguards in tow, all armed to the teeth. "Jason, Sam - you guys alright?"

Sam watched the panic in the green eyes intensify when he saw five added guns trained on him and she knew it was just a matter of time before he talked. She was turned to Jason as he took her by the arms to make her face him, wanting to know the answer to Milo's question as well.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Watching as she shook her head he added, "You said there were two - where's the other one?"

Sam pointed to the stairs and Reggie and Marcus followed her indication, returning a minute later with the hogtied intruder swinging between them, still out like a light. David and Mario were going from room to room checking closets and alcoves, determined to make sure no other threat was imminent.

"Damn, Sam - you did that?" Milo was impressed by the sight of the man completely subdued.

"He's lucky I didn't gut him," she added for Simeon's benefit, seeing the shocked expression on his face when he saw his partner and knowing he'd think twice about breaking into her home again. "This one too - what the hell do you want with me?"

Jason didn't mind that he refused to answer. "We'll see how long you stay dumb, tough guy! Take them to the warehouse!" He moved aside as Milo grabbed Simeon by the arm and shoved him towards the door, then shoving him again when the man tried to gain sympathy for his limp.

Sam watched them all leave before she addressed Jason, "What are you doing? You're not in the mob anymore, remember? Let the police handle it - it's their job!"

Jason shook his head stubbornly, his face hard and determined, "Not this time - this is personal! They came in here to hurt you, Sam and I intend to find out why. This ends right here, right now!"

"Jason, you're trying to get Jake - you can't have two dead bodies pop up on you when you're getting ready to go to court!"

He grabbed her arms and stared angrily into her eyes, "They came at you, Sam! They targeted you and broke into your home where you're supposed to be safe - where our son sleeps! They will not live to do it again!" He didn't wait for a response but moved around her and hastily followed the others out the door, leaving a worried Sam to sigh resignedly before she locked the door and headed upstairs to check on Danny. She was so relieved to see that he hadn't stirred from anything that had happened around him, and she thanked God that she was such a light sleeper. Sam kissed her baby's head and soothed his hair while she watched his little chest…thank you God!

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Jason walked into the warehouse to find the two degenerates confined and waiting for him, Simeon tied to a chair with sleeping beauty now awake and at his feet, yelling for them to untie him. He started to bargain with Jason immediately, "I'll tell you anything you want to know, just untie me, please - my arms - please!"

Simeon looked like he would've kicked him had his feet not been bound to the legs of the chair. "Shut the hell up, Frankie, or I'll kill you myself!"

Frankie didn't appear to be the least bit afraid of Simeon but he obviously knew who Jason Morgan was. "Mr. Morgan, I didn't know she was under your protection, I swear! I was just sent to do a job, it was nothing personal - I didn't know who she was!"

Jason knelt down next to the man and gave him a cold deriding grin. "She's something, isn't she, my wife?" Despite how ragingly furious he was his heart swelled with pride at how well his wife could protect herself and their son, and he almost pitied the fools who'd learned for themselves firsthand tonight. "I bet you've never known anyone like her?"

The man looked like he wanted to pee himself, "Oh God, oh God…I didn't know. She came outta nowhere! I didn't touch her, Mr. Morgan - I swear I didn't know she was your wife!"

The cold grin disappeared as stony anger took over, "She didn't give you the chance to, but you broke into my home with the full intention of killing my family! What do you think I'm gonna do to you right now?"

Looking at him Jason knew that the man was well aware of his fate, evidenced by his next impassioned plea, "It wasn't my idea, Mr. Morgan! I was just doing my job, please - I have a family too!" He was almost sobbing out the last part.

Jason looked up to the stony one not flinching and stood up to tower above the man. "Let him loose." He kept cold eye contact as he waived Reggie over, "Cut his ties," indicating to Simeon, then backing up some as Reggie bent over to do as he was asked, the other men in the room taking up an open leg stance with their guns in lapped hands in front of them. They were ready if he tried to make a run for it.

Eyeing Jason warily, Simeon rubbed his wrists while standing slowly to his feet, looking unsure of what to do or expect. He didn't have to wait long.

Seeing Jason's telltale crick of the neck and wrestle shaking of the hands, Milo pushed his nose to the side and grinned at Mario who nodded knowingly - they were about to be entertained.

In a lightening flash Jason's fist connected to Simeon's jaw and the force sent him sailing to the ground. He felt the gash of teeth on tongue and the blood when it pooled his mouth as he laid there and looked up at the coldest eyes he'd ever seen.

"You're a bad motherfucker - c'mon let's see what you got!" Jason shook his arms again as he waited for the cur to get to his feet, circling him as he did, "Think you're gonna befriend my wife then attack her in her home in the middle of the fucking night? Come on bitch - let's go!" Simeon rose slowly and took a stance but before he knew what hit him, _literally_ , Jason had rushed him so hard that he sent him flailing across the room to crash into the opposite wall, wailing on him the second his back made contact. Loaded fist after loaded fist smashed his face, his head, his chest and gut, uppercuts and crosses landing so fast and so hard that the man couldn't recover for a split second between each one. Everytime he fell to the ground he was ordered back up where Jason would pound him back down again.

Simeon must've realized that he was fighting for his life because he moved to fight back, finally landing a solid fist to Jason's side but in the same minute Jason grabbed him in a chokehold, using his knee to slam over and over into the man's body, finally pushing him to crash into the ground where he stomped his injured leg and twisted mercilessly, eliciting the most bloodcurdling scream from the would be assassin.

" **Who sent you**?" Jason bellowed furiously, using brute strength to ground his foot down and twist even more into the wound.

" ** _Tony Pachello_** **! It was Tony Pachello! Arghhhhh!** " The anguished cry turned into a whiny whimper as Jason eased up on his assault, "It was Tony Pachello…"

Jason was still pacing with anxious adrenaline. "Where do I find him?" Simeon was no longer being tortured so he clamped up again, gingerly grabbing at his injured leg that was now on fire.

"Beechers Corner! He's at 235 Peter's Landing in Beechers Corner - he's waiting to hear that we're done!" It was Frankie screeching out information from across the room - seeing the pain inflicted on the injured man and not wanting any of if for himself. "You can find him in Beechers Corner!"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

It was almost mid morning before Jason returned to the penthouse and Sam was beside herself with worry. She had picked up the phone a hundred times to call him but knew that she shouldn't. It wouldn't be wise to have him distracted by a phonecall at an inopportune moment that could get him killed or injured. She would wait…but nobody said she had to wait patiently, so she had however, called Sonny several times, who assured her to keep calm, reminding her that Jason knew what he was doing. Finally and exasperatedly after her fifth call, Sonny told her he'd go check on things himself and he'd call her with an update soon. It was a couple hours after that Jason showed up, looking exhausted and frustrated as he walked through the door that Sam opened for him.

"What happened? What did you find out?" She rambled off the questions as she took his hand and led him over to the couch, cringing a bit as she stepped over the area where she'd cleaned up the intruder's blood off her floor before Danny got up.

"Come here." Jason pulled her into his arms before they sat down, squeezing her to him for a full minute as he relaxed knowing they were safe. He kissed her on the head and asked, "Where's Danny - is he okay?" He felt her head nod against his lips and he breathed easier.

"He didn't hear anything and he's upstairs playing. Molly wanted to come take him to the park this afternoon but I don't know, Jason - I don't think I should let him out of my sight right now." She still shuddered when she thought about what could've happened if she hadn't woken up when she did.

"It's gonna be okay, Sam - neither one of them will be back here and the man who sent them won't be able to try it again - I made sure of it."

Sam really didn't like the sound of that but she couldn't deny the relief that hearing it brought her. "Who were they working for?"

"Some low-level player out of Beechers Corner who thought he would make a name for himself by coming after my family. Sonny and I put a lock on their attempt to flood Port Charles with drugs years ago and they thought they had a new way in when I disappeared and Sonny got sent to Pentonville. They've been moving in a little at a time until your boy Simeon saw me recently and assumed that I was working for Sonny again and would bring them heat."

Jason's voice got cold when he relayed the next part of what he'd learned. "He was sent here to kill you in your bed where I'd find you and get the message that they were taking over." He looked at her with such pain as he continued, "They knew that hurting you would break me and get me out of the _game_ , or so distracted that they could easily take me out." He pulled her into his arms, squeezing her so tight when he realized how close he'd come to losing her again. Once again his old life had touched her because of how he felt about her - everybody knew how he felt about her and it put her in danger.

Jason remembered a time when that realization had driven him to push her away. He also remembered the ensuing nightmare that both their lives became because of it and he knew he would never try to live without her ever again.

He'd spent the morning making sure that the threat to her life was eliminated with no doubt to the outcome of another attempt to harm her - him and Sonny's crew dumping the dead bodies on the steps of the so called Don, then he and Sonny presenting to head of the families that they were prepared to go to war again in answer to any retaliation against them. They were assured that no hit on the Corinthos' or Morgans had been sanctioned in the first place and they were enjoying the peace between them all and intended for it to continue, even as Jason reminded them that he'd returned to Port Charles, not to the life, so they had no quarrel with him and his family and they would be wise to keep it that way. Sonny assured them that despite Jason not working with him anymore that it was business as usual and peace would prevail if everybody kept to their sides of the streets. Jason Morgan was a civilian and intended to remain that way, unless they forced his hand in any way.

Jason brushed that stubborn loch from her eyes and kissed the side of her lips, "It's gonna be okay baby, everything's been straightened out." He kissed the same spot again, lingering this time as his tongue darted out to taste it, then pulled back to look in her eyes, rejoicing in the reciprocated lust that he saw there. Bending his head again, Jason kissed her lightly on the lips, feathery at first then full force when she responded by looping her arms around his neck and pushing her body closer into his on the couch. He grunted as he tasted her tongue that came out to ram his mouth hungrily, her lips smashing his as she opened to him. It felt like forever since he'd last kissed her and the taste of her went to his head as he wrapped eager arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap where she straddled him hotly, changing the angle of her head as his heated lips left hers to burn a trail down her very kissable neck.

"Momma, I need juice…pleeaaaase?"

Sam leapt out of Jason's lap as their son descended the stairs innocently, lighting up when he saw his father. "Daddy!" He still liked to run to his father's arms whenever he saw him and it still gave Sam a thrill every time he did, even after months of him doing it.

Jason swung him up into his arms and started moving towards the kitchen to get his juice, the hot look he gave Sam telling her that they would be picking up where they left off…very soon!

His phone rang on the way back from the kitchen and it was Diane, letting him know that she'd garnered an emergency hearing in Judge's chambers later that week and to meet her at the courthouse at three. She then told Jason that one of the preliminaries to suing for custody was that he needed a recent paternity test to show claim to his child and that she'd gotten a writ for them to conduct one that very afternoon.

Sam still wasn't comfortable letting Danny out of her sight and she needed to be there for Jason too, so they took their son with them to GH. Seeing Elizabeth and Jake waiting outside the lab they decided to check in at the desk and wait across the room, not wanting to have any interaction with her at all, but Danny spotted his brother and yelled out his name.

"Jake! Look Daddy, Jake's here!" he said fondly as he pointed to his brother.

Hearing his name Jake looked over to Danny and took off running in their direction, his mother yelling at him to come back.

"Jacob, you come back here right this instant!"

Jake kept running, shouting, "It's Danny, I'll be right back, Mom!" He saw his brother squirm out of his father's arms to head over to him too. The parents watched as the two met in the middle of the room and immediately struck up a conversation about who knows what.

Jason smiled as he said to Sam, "He didn't even notice me - did you see that? No, _hi Dad_ , _how you doing Dad_ …just went straight for his little brother who couldn't get out of my arms fast enough!"

Sam laughed as she playfully swatted his arm, "I'm sorry, but it looks like you'd better get used to it!" She walked into his arms, throwing her head back as she laughed up into his face. "Imagine when they're together full time - they'll have no time for their old man," she teased him lovingly.

"Don't hold your breath! You'll never take my baby away from me - I promise you that!"

Both Jason and Sam closed their eyes and took a deep breath, resting their foreheads together. Through her teeth, Sam snapped, "Is there no getting away from her, ever?" Then she sighed loudly and faced the nurse asking, "Did you notice how we're waiting all the way over _here_ , away from you over _there_? Can't you just take a hint and die already?"

"You started this mess!" She was looking at Jason as she addressed Sam. "Tell your boytoy to leave me alone and I'll leave you alone!"

Sam looked to Jason and smiled as she mouthed, "My _boy toy!_ Mmm - I could take that places _!"_ Taking Jason's hand she led him over to the boys in the middle of the room, leaving the woman to her miserable self.

"Hey, Jake! How you doing buddy?" Sam was glad to see him so happy, despite his horrid circumstances.

"Hey, Sam! Dad, can I sleep over tonight?" Before Jason could answer the nurse came over to tell them he was ready for Jake and Jason would be next.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as the nurse took Jake's hand and left, her stink eye not even registering as Sam ignored her and reached for her happy baby.

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Two days later Sam and Jason turned up at Diane's office before they headed over to the courthouse. "Why are we going to the office - didn't she say meet her at the courthouse before?" Sam was curious.

Jason was just as lost as she was, "That's what she originally told us but this morning she said to meet at her office instead - I have no idea why - her assistant would't say."

The top lawyer was lounging by her desk as Jason and Sam were shown in, peering over her glasses at an open letter in her hand. She looked up when they knocked.

"Sam, Jason - there you are!"

"Why are we here, Diane?" Jason got right to the point.

"Okay, first of all don't shoot the messenger." She was still holding the letter as she removed her glasses and walked towards the couple standing in front of her vast oak desk. "And I do mean that literally," she added as she handed the letter to Jason. "We've got the DNA results back and…". She purposely trailed off as she watched him read the paper she handed him.

Sam saw Jason's pallor change and she looked at Diane, confused. "What?" she asked with her hands open before she rested them on Jason's arm and turned to ask him instead, "Jason, what is it?"

He couldn't answer her, he just handed her the letter as he sank into the chair behind him, not uttering a single word. Taking the letter from his hands, Sam read the totally unexpected, unimaginable words, _CONCLUSION: DONOR A, ONE JASON MORGAN, IS EXCLUDED FROM BEING THE FATHER OF THE MINOR CHILD, JACOB MARTIN SPENCER, BY A DETERMINED MARGIN OF 99.99% PROBABILITY._

Sinking into the chair next to Jason, Sam was speechless as she read and reread the damning document, finally looking up to Diane when she realized that the lawyer was hammering on…

"I don't know what's going on here but in all my years as an attorney I've never known DNA to lie - it's medically proven to be infallible. That being said, there could have been a mixup at the lab, which is why I had them run the test again, then for a third time before I asked you here this afternoon. The result has been the same every single time."

Sam looked from Jason still sitting in complete shock, to the lawyer and offered, "Maybe they messed up the samples. That's been known to happen, right? This could still be human error!" She grabbed his hand and squeezed in reassurance. "We'll go over to GH and give another sample, that's all! We'll get this straightened out, Jason."

He wasn't looking at her, just staring straight ahead in stunned disbelief. Sam turned to Diane as the lawyer spoke up again, "I thought of that too, so I had young Jacob's blood tested against Mr. Morgan's samples on file and those tests produced the same results." She added cautiously, "There's more…"

Jason looked at her disbelievingly but still said nothing. It was Sam who asked incredulously, "What more could there possibly be?" She honestly didn't know how much more Jason could take before he exploded out of control. She instinctively knew that his calm was the brewing of a mighty storm.

The stylish lawyer moved to the middle of the desk and leaned against its middle, crossing her legs and hands in front of her as she faced them full on. "When these recent results didn't match what was thought to be the original one, the hospital revisited that first test and…", she paused as she studied both their faces, knowing what she was about to say would undoubtedly change their world. "It turns out that you were misled to begin with."

Jason sprang to his feet and grabbed the chair he'd been sitting in, sending it flying into the wall, shattering it to pieces. Sam and Diane both jumped a foot off the ground, startled by the sudden resounding crash. Sam moved to him and took Jason's hand, attempting to calm him while she sought more answers, "What the hell do you mean by that, Diane?" The tears started brimming her eyes when she realized what was being said. "No! No, I don't believe that! I don't believe a word of that!" But the look on the lawyer's face told her all she needed to know.

Sam released Jason's hand and staggered back down. No, this had to be some humongous, cruel, sad joke. The entire course of so many lives had changed based upon those original results, their lives had basically imploded because of it, how could they have been wrong? It was not possible that they had endured so much pain and life changing, physical and mental suffering because of a misleading test. No, none of it was true - it just couldn't be!

Jason clamped restless hands down in his hair, twisting and pulling from the roots, moving towards the window in anguish and pain. No, there was no possible way. There was no way he was purposely misled to believe something so sacred as he was a father, misled to love a sweet little boy like his firstborn son, misled to devastate the woman he loved more than his own life, all based on someone's wicked lie. No way had he had to put up with dealing with the banshee from hell for the sake of his son, when he really wasn't even his son! Why? Why would this be happening? How could there be this kind of cruelty in one person? How twisted and deranged did a person have to be to do that to other people, to affect so many lives so cruelly…and for what? There had been no big love between them, no undeniable fire that burned in them for each other, so what was her motivation? What would drive that kind of evil selfishness in a person? How could his son not be his son? The devastation stormed through Jason as he tried to rationalize and make sense of any of it. Then he felt Sam holding his hand again…

"Jason." She swiped at the tears pouring out of her as she pleaded with him, "Baby, this changes nothing! She's still a dangerous, sick influence upon that sweet little boy - you have to get him away from her!" She turned to Diane, "He's still Jake's father - he's been a father to that little boy since he came back and he was led to believe for years that Jake was his son - she told him so herself! We need to still sue for custody to give him a fighting chance!" She turned back to Jason in her animated state, "Jason, he needs you now more than ever and a test does **_not_** change what he means to you!"

"Sam, what are you saying? It's a lie - it was all lies…and she did this! She did this to all of us!"

"Yes, she did…but this isn't about her right now! This is about your son, Jason, and he **_is_** your son - in every way that truly counts, that little boy is your son!" She grabbed his face between her hands and pleaded with her love, " _Loving a child has nothing to do with DNA_ , remember? _Nothing_!" She watched his eyes soften and knew she was reaching the man she loved, "He needs you baby, and you will not forgive yourself if you turn your back now. We have to fight for him!"

Unable to help himself, Jason locked his lips on hers, bringing his hands up to the side of her head, holding her to him, drinking her in. He loved her so much, this selfless, unpredictable, loving, unbelievable woman who he would lay down and die for - she was the love of his life and she just gave him one more reason to worship her forever.

Diane wanted to look away but she just couldn't - the love between those two was so palpable she could almost reach out and touch it. She had always admired what they had and it just seemed to get stronger the longer they were together. "Okay you two," she scampered around the desk to get her briefcase, tossing files in as she continued, "We have to get to court!" She followed them out the door adding, "I have a shoe sale to get to by five!"


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** ** _As much as I love this story, I find that I've lost the taste for writing about Elizabeth Webber. I'm really sick of that useless, pointless character, whose sole purpose on the show is to give JaSam grief (she doesn't seem to exist outside of them), so I'm wrapping this one up quickly in the next couple chapters. As always, I really appreciate the awesome feedback and that so many of you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and thank you also for reading, even if you didn't have anything to say…I appreciate all of it._**

 **Chapter 26**

Jason and Sam sat with Diane outside the Judge's chambers, waiting for him to wrap up in a courtroom. From where she sat Sam eyed Jason as he anxiously paced the hallway, trying to work off the nervous energy they were both feeling. There was nothing Sam wanted more than to find Elizabeth Webber and break her neck for what she did to their lives, but the demented nurse had to wait. Getting Jake away from her was more important.

"Jason…" Sam motioned to the seat next to her when he stopped pacing to answer to his name, "Sit with me." She held her hand out as he came to her, grabbing it and squeezing as he sat and turned on the bench to face her.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm not being the best company right now." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it before resting it on his lap, engulfed in his own.

"Stop that! You don't need to think about me right now, it's okay, Jason. Concentrate on keeping calm until we get your son home, we'll deal with the rest of it later." Sam looked down at their joined hands shyly, "Speaking of home…" she trailed off as Jason looked at her, giving her hand a squeeze in urge to continue. She raised her head and looked him in the eye. "Jake needs a proper home, you can't move him into an hotel - it could count against you in there if you can't show that he'll have a solid base, so I think you and Jake should come live with Danny and me."

Jason's breath caught in his throat. For months he was hoping that Sam would give him another chance and eventually invite him back home but for that whole time she wasn't ready and he didn't push. She had just recently decided to give them another chance so he really wasn't going to push about the living situation but here she was, asking him to accept his own dream? He blinked as though to make sure he wasn't really dreaming. "Sam, are you sure? Is that what you really want?"

Sam nodded as she confirmed what her heart wanted her to do. "You can stay in the guest room while we work on our relationship and Jake can bunk with Danny - they'll both love it and you will be there with both your boys, Jason." She looked down again as she jostled their joined hands, "Besides, the penthouse has always been your home. Now that you have your memories back I'm sure it's been kinda weird for you to have to knock when you come over and everything."

He smiled for what must have been the first time that day. "Do you even know how much I don't deserve you? Because _I_ do! I don't know what I ever did in my life to justify you loving me, Sam but whatever it was I'd do it over a million times right now, and I hope you never figure out that you're too good for me!"

She smiled radiantly back at him, "Is that a yes?"

He shook his head as if to convey wonder, "Was that really ever a question? Hell yes, I'll move back home - I'd sleep on the couch if you wanted me to, for as long as you'd let me!" He drew her into his arms and squeezed her body into him as he whispered softly, "Thank you, God!"

A few minutes later Elizabeth showed up with a Cassadine lawyer, both looking smug as though they knew something that the rest weren't privy to and they'd already won. Leaving Jake outside with his sitter, they all moved into the Judge's chamber to start the hearing.

Dianne had advised them that they couldn't have asked for a better Judge. She was a huge child advocate with a known reputation for putting the child's needs above propriety and didn't practice the old adage of never separating a child from a mother, not when the mother was not the best fit for a child's needs. The Judge got started the moment they sat down, addressing Jason's lawyer.

"Miss Miller, you asked for this emergency hearing - why is your client trying to separate the minor child from his mother?"

Diane crossed her Cartulo pumps as she sat up in her chair to answer, "Your Honor, my client has reason to believe that his young son is living in a situation that is dangerous and neglectful and he's here in the best interest of young Jacob to ensure that he gets the proper care needed. From what we understand, young Jacob is bounced quite often between the home he shares with his mother and two other siblings and the home of his great grandmother, an elderly lady who has trouble moving around and is well up in age, not really a suitable caregiver and primary guardian for three rambunctious young boys who require constant supervision. We've been made to understand that these boys spend the majority of their time with the elderly grandmother, and hardly any time with their mother as she is usually seen chasing some man or other around town or getting into mischief in an effort to upset the lives of my client and his wife."

"Objection! Inflammatory and unsubstantiated!" Elizabeth's lawyer was quick to cut off the nurse who had been sitting open-mouthed at the accusations but was about to accost Diane for making them.

The Judge was cool as she answered, "Miss Baxter, this is not a trial, there are no objections. Miss Miller has the floor - you and your client will get your turn to rebut her argument." She waved at Diane, "Please continue, Miss Miller."

"Thank you, your honor! My client believes that his minor son will benefit from living with his younger brother in a stable environment with two loving, constantly present parents with the means to support both their children. My client also believes that if left in the care of his mother, young Jacob will be further subjected to maternal neglect, abandonment, emotional abuse, and a questionable upbringing!"

"What? I have never abused my son! How dare you judge me when you murder people for a living?" The nurse was on her feet, glaring at Jason who returned the glare with that impressive self control that he'd reminded himself to have during the hearing, remembering that the fate of his son depended on it.

"Miss Webber, control yourself and take your seat! Miss Baxter, advise your client that another outburst like that will not be tolerated in my presence and if she cannot control herself she will be escorted out."

"Sorry, Your Honor!" The lawyer said as she physically guided the nurse back down to her seat. "My client is distraught Your Honor, because not only is Mr. Morgan trying to take her son from her using lies and innuendos, but he knows that he has no grounds for this hearing. It was revealed to Mr. Morgan today that he's **_not_** the biological father of Jacob Martin, so we're not even sure why we're here wasting Your Honor's time!"

Diane spoke up with dry sarcasm, "Yet another example of Miss Webber's lack of character that will not serve a young child well, Your Honor! Mr. Morgan was led to believe, since before young Jacob was born, that he **_was_** the biological father, a lie told to him by Miss Webber in her desperately needy attempt to drive a wedge between Mr. Morgan and his then fiancé. For years my client and everyone else were vindictively led to believe that he **_was_** the child's father and was even conned out of five million dollars that he believed he was placing in a trust for the welfare of **_his_** son, when all the while Miss Webber knew the truth."

Standing to hand the Judge a document, Diane continued before she could be cut off by the opposition, "Your Honor, this is a copy of the DNA test results that was given to Miss Webber when the paternity of young Jacob originally came into question, results that were seen by her alone at the time. My client believed her when she told him that the results proclaimed him to be the father, which as you can see here in black and white, was a downright lie, an abominable falsehood which only came to light today… _years_ after my client has bonded with the child! Test results do not negate the fact that my client has loved that child since before he was born and has been a father to him in the last year, _with_ Miss Webber's blessing and encouragement, until most recently when my client made an attempt to reconcile with his wife - a reconciliation necessary, I might add, due to scheming and deceit that was orchestrated and manipulated by a desperate, conniving woman trying to hold on to an amnesiac man who'd shown her under normal circumstances and on more than one occasion that he **_did not_** want her."

Miss Baker rose to her feet as well, "Your Honor, Miss Miller is taking up the court's time with dramatics and soap opera that has no bearing on our reason for being here. The fact remains that Mr. Morgan has no legal claims to Jacob Spencer…he signed away legal rights to the minor years ago and was never a part of his life, but would now like for us to believe that his trusted mother is a danger to him? Mr. Morgan's extensive police record would declare otherwise, showing **_him_** to be the unfit parent, even as we know that he's not even that as he has no ties to this child whatsoever."

Sam looked over at Jason and squeezed his hand in reassurance. She knew how much it was killing him every time they said Jake was not his.

"Mr. Morgan's record is not on trial here your honor, if it were I would point out that most of those charges were dropped in light of proven police harassment and singling out of my client with false accusations placed against him! If it were, I would also find it necessary to point out that those accusations are a thing of the distant past, but that _presently_ , Miss Webber is facing a lifetime in prison for Attempted Murder and Corporate Espionage, charges which were **_not_** fabricated as evidence exists with the nurse herself proclaiming her knowledge of the murder plot and corporate takeover, neither of which she thought to notify the police about. However, since an alleged criminal past is not what is being argued here today I stand by my argument that Jason Morgan is the father that Jacob knows and loves, given that Miss Webber's other raffle contestant has vanished from the face of the earth and gives no regard to the upbringing of Jacob or his other sons. After being abandoned by the man who promised to raise him and give him a home, this poor child has now been pawned off on his elderly great grandmother, who will most likely be forced to provide full time care when Miss Webber is convicted and sent to prison very soon…although, given how much time he already spends there, it already appears to be a permanent situation, with irregular visits to his mother. Little Jacob deserves a stable home of his own and to stop getting bounced around at his mother's whim and current man fancy, Your Honor!"

The bantering went on for the next forty minutes with Diane combatting every point brought up by Elizabeth and her attorney, including Sam's past as a con artist and the alleged endangerment of the nurse's sons years before. Soon it was brought up that Jason was unmarried and lived in a hotel and that was not the ideal situation for young Jake. It was the answer to that allegation which set off the real fireworks, Elizabeth not taking the news well that Jason was moving back home with Sam and Danny. It was then that Elizabeth exploded and seemed unable to take anymore, jumping to her feet and screaming at Jason, "You should've just stayed dead! We were better off with you in the grave!"

Then in the next second she was breaking down and crying up a storm, changing her tune instantly, "Why did you have to remember anything? You were finally out of the bitch's clutches and I had you all to myself! We were happy - we had our son and we were happy - why did you have to go and ruin everything?" She quickly became inconsolable, crying uncontrollably and throwing herself at Jason's feet, "Why couldn't you just love me and our son and forget about her and that little spawn of rape? _Whyyy_ , _Jaaason…whyyyy_?" Her gigantic sobs and slurred words were a pathetic sight to see. "Lucky didn't deserve him, he was supposed to be ours, it was supposed to be our time…our time, Jason!" Suddenly the tears seemed to dry up and she was raving animately as she clung to his leg and stared at him with bugged out, wet eyes, "You are my destiny, Jason don't you see that? Don't you see that we were meant to be together forever?" She urgently clung to his leg even while he tried to flash her off and her lawyer tried to help her to her feet, the Judge repeatedly shouting for her to contain herself.

"Miss Baxter I've had just about enough theatrics from your client. Please remove her from my chamber immediately or the Bailiff will!"

"I apologize Your Honor! My client is not feeling well - we've spent a grueling two days preparing for this hearing as well as unfair and unsubstantiated claims in another matter and it's clearly taking a toll."

The Judge dismissed them all and called Jake in to speak to him privately. While they waited, Elizabeth's lawyer took her to wash her face and gather herself while Diane waited outside the chambers with Jason and Sam. Watching them walk down the hallway, Diane was curious, "That one's a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs, isn't she? Has she always been like that?"

It was Jason who answered. "Who knows anymore? She's been pretending so long it's really hard to tell who the real one is." Then just like that he changed the subject. How much longer, Diane? This has to be hard on Jake."

"The Judge just wants the opportunity to hear little Jake and find out which parent he'd prefer to live with. It's not the defining factor but Judges like to take the child's mind frame into account in cases like this. It really shouldn't be much longer." She was right as fifteen minutes later they were all called back into the chamber where the Judge handed down her decision to give Jason and Sam temporary custody of Jake, with immediate effect. She cited that despite the DNA tests, Jason had been told he was and had been acting as Jake's father, providing for him and loving him and he had a right to continue that bond as it obviously benefited Jake who appeared to be happy and felt safe with him and Sam. She pointed out that Elizabeth Webber was unstable and ought to seek psychiatric help, as well as make other arrangements for her other two children. She couldn't factor in the upcoming trial as the nurse had not yet been convicted of anything but she was gravely concerned about the choices that she was making for her children and wouldn't subject young Jacob to anymore of her questionable parenting. She advised Elizabeth's counsel to get her treatment and to launch an earnest search for the father of her other children, or to get capable relatives to give them safe haven.

"Miss Webber, it is my order that you relinquish guardianship of young Jacob Martin Spencer _immediately_ to the care of his father, Jason Morgan. It is also my order that you seek treatment from a reputable psychiatrist immediately and submit his findings to this court at a date to be set six months from today, at which time the permanent custody of Jacob Spencer will be determined by the court. I further order that during the time of temporary custody you will be allowed _supervised_ visitation only with the minor child."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** ** _I hate to disappointment the readers who want to see Lucky make an appearance to claim Jake, but I'm sorry, I just can't do it…Lucky walked away without telling Sam or Jason the truth about Jake Doe, all because he wanted to be free to go be a deadbeat! He was already on my shitlist from 2010 when he acted the way he did when Jason chose to save the woman he loved from Franco instead of Lulu, so when he laid down like a doormat so Liz could have what she wanted_** ** _again_** ** _, and he could walk away clean - I was done with him. He and Jason weren't exactly friends but they'd learned a mutual respect for each other in the past, and Sam sure as hell deserved better from him. The fact that he kept that secret like that - I'm sorry, but he's dead to me! Just think about it this way…this story is all about giving it to Liz (finally), and Sam raising Jake is going to fucking kill her! Sam raising Jake with Jason will resurrect and then kill her again, so it's a win-win!_**

 **Chapter 27**

Three months later the Morgans had settled into their routine and adjusted to being a family of four. It had been hard on Jake to be separated from his brothers but Jason and Sam made sure that the boys saw each other every day and spent as much time together as possible, which wasn't very hard since Elizabeth Webber and Nicholas Cassadine had both been tried and found guilty. Nicholas had been sentenced to twenty-five years in prison and had gone down screaming bloody hell, demanding his lawyers file every appeal known to man and threatening to send every assassin on the Cassadine payroll after Sam, that is, until Jason paid him a very _discreet_ visit his first day in his new home.

He had no idea why the guards had separated him from everybody else and left him in a secluded room, or what he thought was a secluded and empty room…until the voice of doom boomed from the shadows to chill his blood.

"See how reachable you are here?" The cold, sinister sound was so distinctly sudden and clear it sent Nicholas jumping a foot back, cursing under his breath when he made out the form sitting in the shadows and recognized the cold voice of the man who helped to bring his life to a grinding halt.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jason rose slowly to his feet and approached the fallen prince threateningly, leaving the shadows to show himself. "That's the problem with spoiled, little rich princes like you…nobody bothered to teach you to quit while you're ahead."

The prince snarled haughtily, "And somebody should've told you you're not a gangster anymore. Things have changed a great deal since you last lived in Port Charles, it would serve you well to remember that."

Jason circled the man, studying him from head to toe, momentarily unable to decide whether or not to do it then and there himself. Grudgingly deciding not to, he finished sizing up the prince and issued the personal warning instead. "You've threatened my wife for the last time and this is not a plea." He saw that the man was starting to pay attention, as he continued with the icy cold, stony glare reserved for many. "See Prince, you won't find any of the aristocratic bullshit that you live, _here_. No servants, no butlers…" he bent near the man's head to whisper menacingly, "…no security!"

The prince's blood actually ran cold as he listened to Jason. "The things that happen in a place like this…to a little princess like you…tsk, tsk!" Jason was purposely vague and ominous as he shook his head slowly. "I will never allow my wife to live in fear - not from you, not from anyone…so tonight when the lights go out…" He backed towards the door, watching the quiet dread set in the man's eyes, the tiniest bead of sweat dampening his princely brow. "If not tonight…then tomorrow night…maybe the night after that…"

"You don't scare me - and that cousin of mine would've done better to mind her own business!" He tried to sound strong and intimidating, failing miserably when his voice cracked and shuddered under the look of death as he watched the enforcer pause at the door, standing still as a statue as he locked eyes with him. What Nicholas saw in the hard lines of his face chilled his very soul. There was nothing empty in his promise. "You can't do anything to me! You can't touch me!" But the enforcer was already gone and Nicholas himself couldn't buy his last trembling attempt at sounding hard and unafraid.

He sank weakly into the nearby chair to quiet his wobbly knees as he whispered to himself, "He can't touch me here. Nobody can touch me." Then his mind wandered to the things he knew Jason and those he associated with were capable of. He thought of all the despicable, unscrupulous degenerates in his new home who would kill their own mother for a negligible fraction of the kind of money at the enforcer's disposal, and he threw up in his mouth. Who was he kidding? He'd be dead before supper!

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Elizabeth was remanded to a facility for the criminally insane following a complete breakdown on the stand at her trial. She'd become so delusional and frantic that they'd had to medicate her to calm her down enough for transport to the facility. She woke up after hours of drugged slumber to a padded, dark cell. Laying still at first while her eyes got accustomed to the dark, she soon realized that she was not alone. Yanking herself upright she scrambled in the twin bed to brace her back against the padding. "Who is it - whose there?"

The room flooded with light and she was shocked to find Sam sitting in the corner, her hand resting on the lamp that she had just flicked on, staring dead at the nurse in her initially panicked state.

Sam drew her hand from the lamp and sat back in the folding chair, crossing one thigh over the other to slowly swing her booted leg as she studied the pitiful creature sitting there, her pallor almost as white as the scrubs she wore. Sam didn't miss when her back suddenly went up against the wall, a haughty look creeping into her eyes a she tried to convey a lack of fear in front of her chosen nemesis.

"It's you. What the hell am I doing here? Where is this place?"

Sam pointed to the padded walls and watched as the woman slowly turned her head to follow the indication. "Oh, come on _Nurse_ …surely you can guess? Go ahead, let me hear you take one guess - just one!"

Elizabeth shook her head vigorously and sputtered, "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

"You'd better calm down, Lizzy," Sam cautioned in a childlike taunt, "there's a big, fat needle just outside with your name on it." Sam watched the woman's veiled control return as she glared at her.

"You did this! Why would you do this to me? First you take my Jason and now you take my freedom? What kind of cold, heartless bitch are you?"

Sam leaned her head to the side as she answered the woman, "The kind who your son will be calling mom by the time you see the light of day again!" Watching the priceless anger wrapped in pure fumes cross her face, Sam shifted positions as she continued, "See here's the thing, Elizabeth - I didn't set out to destroy your life, but you sure placed a bullseye on mine! You and I learned to live in relative peace with each other…much as I still couldn't stand you - I didn't despise the air you breathed anymore. But you couldn't grow up like the rest of us who left shit that happened in the past to stay there and live like responsible, sane adults. You thought you had every right to fuck my son's life to get your way - well guess what, puff princess? You can sit in your new digs and revel in the shit that you turned yours into. But don't worry at all about Jake, my husband and I will give him the absolutely best of everything because we truly love that little boy. Your kids are the only good thing that's worthy about you and now, they'll finally have a fighting chance without your poison to taint them!"

"You're lying! Laura will get my boys! Jason is **_not_** Jake's father! You will never have my son - never!"

"And whose gonna stop it, Looney Tunes - you? Planning to get sane long enough to strike a mighty blow, are we?" Sam was mocking as she listened to the drivel. "In a few very short months we will be able to show the court Jake's progress and once they see how happy and well adjusted that kid is, the Judge won't hesitate to make us permanent custodians! That sweet little boy will finally have the love and attention he deserves and you will get nowhere near him ever again!"

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This is not happening! This is _NOT HAPPENING_!"

"Isn't it?" Sam raised a brow then shifted in her chair again, uncrossing her legs. "You have finally reaped what the fuck you've been sowing and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving troll! You've toyed with people's lives and used people for your own selfish games long enough. How could you lie to Jason and Jake like that? You let them believe all this time that they were father and son when you _knew_ otherwise - who does that?" She honestly wanted to know!

The fact that someone could live such a complete and destructible lie solely for self gain was mind boggling to Sam, and just where did it all come from? Why did she do any of it? "When Jason and I fell in love you were barely a blip on the radar! You were too busy living your own life and screwing your way through town to care…until he decided he wanted one with me, then all of a sudden - **_boom_** \- you were soulmates destined for happily ever after and you just _had_ to have him! But tell me something, Nurse Nutcase, where the fuck were you when he needed you though, huh? Every time his life exploded and he fell into a tailspin - where were you? When he lost his memory the first time and needed help to get his life back? When the people he considered family needed him and he blamed himself for every horrible thing that happened to them? When he blames himself for the changing of the fucking weather, where're you? Through every life-threatening surgery and ensuing battle to get his life back, every doubt he's tortured himself with, every time he needed somebody to fight for him - where were you, Elizabeth?" Sam moved closer to her and pounded the side of her head with her forefinger, "What part of the muddled corrosion inside there gives you ownership of Jason Morgan and his life?"

She swatted Sam's hand away as she raised her chin in defiance, "Jason and I belong together and if he would only open his eyes he would see it! So what Jake wasn't his, it would've been only a matter of time before we'd have a baby that was all ours. Why couldn't you just disappear and leave us alone?"

Sam laughed dryly at the insane twit. "You really are batshit crazy, aren't you? No matter though - because, _finally_ , finally we get some peace away from you, you spineless, manipulative bitch! And while you rot in here with your finger paints and your art therapy you can think about my husband and I living the life you tried to steal from us with our son - no, scratch that - our _sons_! And then you can just shrivel up and die because Jason doesn't want you, I fucking hate you, and Jake will soon forget you!"

Sam moved to leave, seeing the pathetic woman jump off the bed to block her path. "No, Sam please - don't leave! Don't leave me in here, please! I don't belong here - you have to tell them. Please, Sam - tell them I don't belong here!"

Sam flashed her arms as the nurse grabbed onto her pleadingly, pushing the woman away from her. "This is exactly where you belong, you evil bitch! You should concentrate on taking the help that's being offered to you here, because nobody could use it more! Now **_move_** the fuck outta my way - my family's waiting for me!"

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Cameron and Aiden were placed with the Spencers, who eventually gave in to allowing them to spend time with Jake and Danny, sometimes even overnight at the Morgans' penthouse.

Jake was thriving and happy and while he asked a lot of questions about his mother at first, he soon understood when they told him that his mother was ill and had to stay in a hospital where they could help her. They promised him that as soon as she was allowed they would let him go with the Spencers to visit her. Sam had insisted on taking him to see Kevin Collins to help him process everything that was happening in his young life, and after a shy start he was starting to open up, even about his time spent away from Port Charles.

Sam and Jason continued to see Dr. Collins on a weekly basis as well, finding more and more that they had missed each other terribly and both wanted the same things for their relationship. With two lively boys at home they didn't spend a lot of time alone but they had a scheduled date on Wednesdays when Jake was to spend the night with his other two brothers and Danny would spend the night at the Qs. There was one particular Wednesday night that Jason made into _the_ definite turning point for them.

"Sam, your phone's ringing!" Molly straightened up from the oven in Alexis' kitchen and held the phone out to her big sister who was sitting at the table with their mom, attempting to chop vegetables. They'd had the great idea to make dinner, knowing they couldn't boil water between the two of them and had nearly burned the house down, until Molly showed up to the rescue. "You left it on the counter…it's Jason!"

Just the sound of his name had always been enough to cause her heart to flutter and her blood to boil, and this time was no different. Sam smiled as she reached eagerly for the phone, which Molly playfully pulled back from her grasping hands, earning her a light punch on her arm as Sam reached again. "Ouch - hey, that hurt! Mom…"

"Molly, stop teasing your sister." Alexis smiled at her youngest as they both looked knowingly at Sam as she smiled into answering the phone.

"Hey!"

"Hey, beautiful! Are you almost done over there?"

"Almost…why? What's up?" That voice just did things to her.

"Can you meet me?"

He was up to something - she knew instantly without him barely saying anything. "Where?"

Twenty minutes later she had left the burned remnants of dinner behind her and showed up at the docks to find Jason waiting patiently for her by the slip that held his boat. Sam remembered thinking about selling it when Jason disappeared but she couldn't bare to, neither could she bare to use it, so she'd had it kept at the marina and regularly maintained. She lifted her chin as he grinned quietly at her, "What're you up to?"

Jason reached for her hands to lift one to his lips and kiss her palm softly, looking deeply into her beautiful brown eyes. "You're so suspicious, Morgan. Can't a man just want to take his girl for a ride?"

She poked him playfully, "That answer right there gives you away! Spill it Morgan!"

He merely smiled as he pulled her towards the boat. "Come aboard, Captain!"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

For a lover of the sea and the captain of her own life and floating home away from home, nothing could be more romantic than dinner and dancing under the stars, afloat with the one you love. That one being the most romantic man you've ever known your whole entire life makes your head spin and your heart light.

Sam sat on the boat's bench and admired the chiseled power beneath the black t-shirt that stretched tautly to cover the ripped hotness of her man, and the smile she'd been sporting all night turned her lips once again as she thought about tearing it from his body…again. She admired the strong, toned arm that poured her third glass of champagne and allowed her mind to wander to the other magnificent deeds she'd known those very arms to perform, so, so very well.

Moving off the bench she slipped around the table to where the sexiest man she'd ever known sat and watched her slow, deliberate approach, opening those arms so she could slide effortlessly onto his waiting lap, straddling him as she wrapped his beautiful body with hers, her arms circling his neck and her lips seeking his hungrily of their own accord. As she drank in the man she loved and felt the arms that gave her life hold her tightly to rippled strength, Sam thought how she'd wanted to do that all night. The taste of him was potent and intoxicatingly hot, sending waves through her brain that made her dizzy and spellbound as she clasped his beautiful face between her hands and shifted her body against chiseled hardness to make pointed contact with his open need for her. Hearing him groan as her wanton heat assuaged his heightened desire, Sam moaned and drank his tongue thirstily as he willingly plodded her hot mouth and gave himself over to her.

The need for oxygen tore seeking lips apart, only to send him in search of the taste of her delicious neck, his hot tongue leaving a trail after each soft kiss leading down to the clef at the base of her throat, where he danced with her pulse as it quickened to the licks of his tongue. Throwing her dazed head back with eyes closed to the thrilling sensations he was sending all through her, Sam reveled in the feel of his lips that teased her breast through her shirt, teeth mockingly biting at a taut nipple. A crash sounded behind her as he used an open arm to sweep the table, neglected pasta plates hitting the floor of the boat to make room for her back as he laid her down, rising above her and breaking contact with her neck where he'd sucked his ownership into red, branding marks of desire.

She heard the ripping sound of her shirt as it left her writhing body in pieces, his matching impatience breaking through as he fought to get to every inch of her, claiming her lips again after he tore the jeans from her body beneath him. She grabbed the edge of his own shirt, lifting to indicate her need to be rid of it between them, prompting him to rip it over his head, tossing it over the side of the boat. Sam laughed headily when she saw where it landed, opening her legs and arms as she called him back to her, to which he responded instantly, his jeans hitting the deck as he laid reverent head down to worship the goddess of his dreams.

He kissed her hotly then moved away from her body again to grab a bottle of champagne from the cooler by the bench, popping the cork to let the foaming liquid spring freely. Sam saw the devilish gleam in his eye before she felt the cool liquid hit her chest and dribble down her stomach, quickly traced by his tongue as he ran it behind the nectar to lick every drop away from her body where he dried first each breast and then her stomach. Sensing where he was headed, she couldn't stop the moan that left her throat when he proved her right by pouring the liquid directly on her crotch, dipping his head to bite down on the flimsy cloth that still covered her there, using his teeth and one hand to rip them from her body before pouring more champagne over her. Sam looked down to meet molten blue looking back at her as he dipped his tongue to taste champagne clit, groaning softly as he pulled it into his mouth and latched on, pouring even more liquid to brim their joined lips as he lapped hungrily at her. She moaned as her hands pinned themselves in her own hair, clenching and lifting away from her scalp as she hoisted her hips in response to the heavenly feel of him clasped wickedly to her, and as her eyes popped wide beneath the blanket of the clear, starry night sky she felt like a glorious offering to the gods beneath the skilled lips of one that was her very own!

Setting the champagne aside Jason reached up to voluptuous breasts, groaning at the heavy feel of them in his hands and the delectable taste of her upon his lips, losing himself in the heaven that was his woman. She writhed beneath his administering mouth, an indication of her pleasure that prodded him to give her more…he wanted to give her everything - for the rest of his life he wanted to give her it all. Kneading her softly, he flattened his tongue and dragged it hungrily over her womanhood, adding suction as he moved over her clit, pausing to pull it between his lips and strum it inside of his hot mouth. He knew the minute she was about to burst open and as her hands clasped his hair and held his head closer to her and she ground his face, her cry of ecstatic pleasure prompted him to cover her opening, thirstily drinking up every drop of her sweet release.

Sam whimpered as she descended, opening her eyes again to find him poised above her smiling knowingly at her satisfied state, and she instinctively sensed it was only the calm before he stormed her. Lowering his head to claim her lips softly, she welcomed his plundering of her mouth with his need and as she tasted herself upon his demanding tongue, she closed her eyes to the feel of a new surge of pleasure as he pushed slowly into her, one arm moving to bring her leg up and rest her knee at his hip.

"Open your eyes." His command was low and seductive and she obeyed instantly, meeting the blue haze from the man she loved above all others, the one man who was made as the other half of her wayward soul. The one man who knew her through and through, who she'd fight for every day for the rest of her life, who she'd give herself to every second of each of those days. She loved him so much!

"I love you, Sam! I love you so fucking much!"

And just like that he was reading her mind again. He knew her as well as she knew him, and they both knew better than to let the world in - they knew better, but they always did. Not anymore, not ever again! "I love you too, Jason…so much!" She was crying as his thrust into her matched a rhythm that reached her very soul with the surge of unbridled pleasure it sent riveting through her core. Literal tears streaked her cheeks when he touched that unreachable spot deep inside where ecstasy laid waiting for his tip, coursing through her veins to release locked tear ducts that spilled over with her abundance of love for him.

Pulling her to hang over the edge of the table, Jason thrust into her with force, circling his hips as the base of him connected sweetly with her delightful pelvis and she clung fiercely to the sides of the table, the moan that escaped her inviting him to lean down to claim her lips ravenously, her heavy breasts bouncing gloriously between them as he thrusted into her repeatedly, vigorously, then grinding against her clit to drive her over the edge. And over the edge she went, screaming into his kiss as the coils in her stomach broke loose, pleasure soaring through her brain as her man stroked her body. He kissed her again, the need to contact with every part of her that fit so perfectly with every part of him, rampant within him. Tangling her tongue with his own he kissed her hard, still thirsty for more of her, he always wanted more of Sam.

He throbbed inside her and Sam realized that he was still very hard. She kissed him back then pushed on his shoulders lightly so he would let her up, turning herself on the table when he slid out of her and getting on all fours as she looked back enticingly at him, inviting him to rejoin with her. Missing her the moment they lost contact, her seductive look was all he needed to take her again, his head instantly reeling from the feel of her juices coating his manhood as they synced to a rhythm that was all Jason and Sam. Adoring his hugeness inside her, Sam pushed back into each thrust as she bent her head and raised one leg on the table, giving him all of her like she wanted to do forever and ever. The remarkable sensation of her opening completely up to him set neurons bursting through his brain as his hands sought her delicious hips and drew her back with his thrusts into her core. He was groaning uncontrollably now, the pleasure that she gave him overpowering all control and opening him up to every nuance of her. Reaching down to palm one of his favorite circles in the world, he kept hold of her hip with one hand as they mated to the music of the waves, curtained by the night sky in a cocoon of their love.

Jason felt the surge shoot through him like a fiery rocket of hot lead and when her muscles clenched down to grip him in a vice, he yelled her name into the night as the rocket tore through, wrenching the semen from his body to shoot deep, deep inside her, weakening his knees and draining his back. At that same time, Sam rode his final, hard thrust and screamed to the magnificent fire burning through her belly as his spurts released her coils and sent her dizzying over the edge with him. As that fire ebbed and the torrent waived, slowing her push against his equally slowed thrusts, she reached back and wrapped her arm around his neck as his body lowered to hers and they both sank to the table, unable to move.

Twenty minutes later, Jason swooped her into his arms without warning and made a mad dash for the stern, smiling smugly as he came to an abrupt stop, hovering just on the edge.

"Jason, no!" But the words barely left her lips before he leapt off the boat holding her snugly to his chest as they slammed water. He held on to her with one hand as they threaded up to the surface, smiling in the dark when they broke through and Sam immediately wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Skinny dipping, Captain?" He kissed the side of her mouth lingeringly and she laughed as she reached her hands up to swipe dripping hair back on her head before wrapping her arms lovingly around his neck, leaning her head to expose hers to his traveling kisses.

"You're the answer to a girl's wet dream you know that, Morgan?" Sam squeezed him close to her as she claimed his wandering lips to taste the salt of the sea. They frolicked and played until they burned with need for each other again, getting back on the boat so they could quench the sexy thirst for each other in the tiny shower. Using the tight space as an excuse to get even closer, Jason lathered her body from neck to knees, pinning her to the shower wall, breasts and hands pressed up against it as he rubbed soap all over her, his chest pressed into her back and his throbbing heat pressed against her tight ass cheeks as he spread her hands, palm out on the glass, roaming inward to lather her back and move down her sides, grabbing her hip as she pushed back into his hardness, rotating them to entice his entry.

Sam moaned when he entered her from behind, his thickness filling her up completely as she took him inch by slow, engorging inch. Leaning her head back onto his rigid chest, she wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him into her, moaning even more as he thrusted and slid his hands around to grope her breasts, rubbing the aching nipples between skilled fingers as he tongued her neck. The shower's heat paled in comparison to that within her and as she pushed back to meet his sweet, slow thrusts their soapy bodies slid sublimely together to create even more heat, soon sending them both over the mountain top in ecstatic bliss.

An hour later they laid together in the stateroom, Sam dozing lightly on her belly with her hands clasped beneath her naked body, Jason next to her on his side, head resting in his hand as he watched her in beautiful relaxation. He loved seeing her this way, contented and happy, safe and serene with him. He watched her soft breaths even out and couldn't stop himself from leaning down to kiss her softly as he whispered, "I finally have what I've always wanted, Sam…you are the mother of my firstborn and the only mother of my children. I've never wanted it to be anybody else but you." He kissed her again and drew her into his arms as he laid his head next to hers and joined her in slumber.

Somewhere between the haze of sleep and waking, Sam heard the words that filled her heart and soothed her spirit.

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Elizabeth walked through her house and in every room she paused to travel down a painful lane of memories. Rooms that were once filled with the laughter of children and sounds of passionate lovemaking, now echoed with the silence of loneliness and loss. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and saw a time when she stood in the very spot, a smiling blonde haired prince holding her to him, making plans for the upcoming day with their boys. As the image shimmered into what now stood a lonely, broken creature she wept at the destruction she had weaved of their lives. One bad decision after the other, one horrible lie to endorse and prolong the first, and she had started a domino ripple that destroyed it all. Being released on probation and five years house arrest with mandated psychiatric care was of little comfort to her troubled mind.

Heading down the stairs she recalled images of playing boys as they chased each other around a now empty living room, their sweet laughter a thing of the past. What was her freedom if sharing a family with her happily ever after was still lost to her? She didn't exist for him anymore, he'd made it so very abundantly clear she couldn't have missed it as hard as she'd tried. He'd moved on, he was married to her again and he'd given her another baby. Seeing them so happy and in love around town killed her every time she ran into them on her infrequent trips to the hospital and the few other places allowed under her house arrest. How had that not been her? Why had life been so cruel as to take everything that was meant to be hers and given it to the one woman she would see die a thousand gruesome, torturous deaths just for existing? How could he possibly love someone like her when he was meant for their life together?

Moving through the house to descend the stairs to the basement she came to a stop at the faulty furnace, eyeing the pan that collected the dripping oil that escaped. It was time for emptying it, she thought, and just as she bent down to take it she had a sudden lightbulb moment. Straightening up she looked from the pan of oil to the furnace, then around the basement, a wicked smile lifting cold lips as she grinned at the thought. They would all feel so bad. They would suffer thinking about how badly they treated her, they would all regret taking everything from her and be too miserable to enjoy another guiltless moment ever again.

Coining the plan in her head, she laid the pan back down in its place and plugged in the portable heater right next to it. The old thing was faulty and she'd been meaning to throw it out and get a new one before winter but as luck would have it, she hadn't gotten around to it - lucky thing! She turned the dial until the old thing glowed a brilliant orange, then shoved it as close to the oil pan as it could get. She smiled wide as she straightened back up, eagerly anticipating the outcome of the brilliance she'd coined in the moment. She would escape captivity and watch it all unfold from afar.

Turning swiftly to make her way out of the basement she failed to notice the discarded toy, tripping over it and landing unceremoniously hard on the ground, hitting her head on the pointed tip of the iron as it laid at the foot of the ironing board, blacking out almost immediately. She came to hours later, groggily rubbing her head as she looked around her darkened surroundings, panicking suddenly when she felt the immense heat and remembered the emblazoned heater, and as she looked behind her to where it was plugged in she realized that the room was filled with smoke…one split second before she saw the orange flames lapping up oil in a deadly race to the hot furnace!

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Sam descended the stairs slowly in search of the mouthwatering aroma that wafted up them to tease her growling, growing stomach. She rubbed her unborn daughter as she laid eyes on her husband exiting the kitchen, plate in hand. She smiled wide when he looked up to her with an equally bright smile, his eyes emoting the same love she'd seen every time she came into view.

"What smells so good?"

Holding the plate in one hand he held out the other in offer to help her down from the last step, then lead her over to the dining table where she noticed the plate he laid down was one of several. It was dinnertime at the Morgan house and they were alone again, having been abandoned by their sons who went off with Kristina, Michael and Molly earlier that day. Pulling her chair out he used their still joined hands to guide her to sit, bending down to kiss her neck before he sat across from her.

"Everything you've been craving today…garlic pasta with clams, butternut squash ravioli with white sauce, fried cucumber - _yuck_ \- and a salad that you will eat to keep you out of the starch coma you're about to fall into."

Sam reached for a cucumber slice and moaned with how good it tasted, its golden, deep fried coating crunching between her teeth as she savored its goodness. "Mmmm - you're the best husband in the world - this is so good! Here, try one!" She reached over to him and as much as he hated the damn things, he hated disappointing Sam more. Grudgingly allowing her to feed it to him, he wrapped his lips around her fingers and purposely licked before sitting back in his chair, openly ogling his wife as she dug in ravenously. Sam loved food and he loved Sam. Her raven lochs glowed as they fell in soft curls to her shoulder, kissing her skin that sported an equally beautiful pregnancy glow that radiated from within her. He watched the way her rich brown eyes danced with each happy bite and he envied the food on her plate. Her breasts had grown with pregnancy too, making her bosom even more his favorite place to spend a lazy afternoon, or morning, or evening…any damn time he could be near her. He looked down to where his daughter was growing inside of her and the love for his family was overpoweringly strong and he couldn't wait to meet its newest member.

They had been robbed of so much with Danny's pregnancy and missed out on everything they should've enjoyed together…but not this time. The few glorious weeks they'd had after that first test proclaimed him Danny's father had been the best of his life, until it had been taken away so cruelly…but not this time. This time he knew from the first morning she got sick, from the first time he'd held her hair while she emptied her stomach, from the very first moment they saw that wonderful blue symbol on the home pregnancy test - he knew this was their baby together. The baby they'd wanted before she even existed, the baby they'd made out of their unbelievably strong, irresistible, unbreakable, everlasting love. He knew they'd get to do everything right this time, and he was thrilled to experience it all with her.

She glowed during pregnancy, always had, and as he watched her his chest filled with pride as big as his heart was filled with love for his woman.

"You're simply beautiful, you know that?"

He marveled at how it could be possible for her to be the most breathtaking little thing he'd ever seen, even as she stuffed ravioli in her face and all he wanted was to go to her and lick the sauce that escaped her delicious lips. "You take my breath away, Sam…you're beautiful with our daughter growing inside of you!"

Sam stopped eating for a second to look at her husband, seeing the obvious way that he adored her, and before she could stop them the tears had welled her eyes for the tenth time that day. She wiped her mouth on the napkin and held it in place to finish her bite, while all the while the hormonal tears kept running. Finally able to answer him, she wiped at them with the napkin and smiled, "I love you, Jason!" He still thought she was beautiful. She couldn't believe how much it meant to her to know how he saw her. "I love you, so much!"

Laughing softly, he moved his chair closer to her so he could use his thumb to brush the tears from her gorgeous face, leaning in at the last second to lick a spot that she missed by her juicy, succulent lips.

"Mhmm, you're right - that's good sauce! He licked the spot again though clean, and let his tongue linger and drift over to the corner just inside her sweet mouth, dropping a hot peck there. Pulling back to look deeply into her eyes he replied, "I love you so much more!"

After dinner they sat on the couch watching the evening news, or at least Sam watched the news while Jason watched Sam. He was having visions of licking that sauce off other places on his tasty wife and was glad that he'd made extra. A sudden bulletin cut into the normal broadcast, just as Jason leant down to nibble at her ear.

Sam watched absentmindedly to see what was breaking…sensational tingles were running from her ear to parts of her anatomy that seemed to stay on fire for her husband, and she was ready to take their petting up those stairs, when she saw a very familiar photo and name flash across the screen, alongside the burning embers of what used to be a familiar house. Swatting at Jason she grabbed his arm and sat upright, "Jason, look!"

" _…_ _sole occupant of the house, Nurse Elizabeth Webber was home at the time, having just been released from Darkham, where she had been for the last year and a half, sentenced to undergo treatment for a mental break with reality, during a highly publicized trial for the attempted murder of Hayden Barnes. Preliminary investigations indicate suicide, as the body was found next to a tampered heater and oil. The fire department continues its investigations into…._ "

Sam looked over to Jason as the screen went black, watching as he tossed the remote from his hand and leant back down to her neck.

"Where were we?" His lips latched onto her throat and his tongue drew a trail up to her lips where he claimed them hungrily as he dipped down the neck of her shirt and into her bra, palming a tender breast lovingly with heightened hotness. Moving his hand out of her bra he continued down to her crotch as his tongue rammed the back of her throat and he rubbed her through her pants roughly. Reluctantly easing away from her lips as she clung to him in heat he moved from the couch and pulled her with him to then prod her up the stairs.

"I'll meet you in our bedroom!"

Sam giggled like a schoolgirl as she headed upstairs, knowing she had one sticky, sultry night ahead of her and eagerly anticipating every moment, and Jason was two steps behind her with the rest of the white sauce.

 ** _A/N_** _: Thank you all for coming on this ride and I hope you continue to enjoy the best couple ever created by GH as much as I do. I'm off to finish Sam's Revenge, It Never Happened, and My Heart Would Know You Anywhere…see you on the other side of the keyboard!_


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